Congo's "conflict charcoal"

Kamwi Alphonse, 65, lives in the Bulengo displacement camp and makes charcoal primarily for his family, but occasionally sells it as well. He sells a plastic bag for 600 Francs — about a dollar. Photo: Miguel Samper for Mercy Corps

Most people have heard of conflict or "blood" diamonds, but fewer may be aware of conflict charcoal. The charcoal trade in Congo's North Kivu Province is primarily controlled by a long-standing rebel group. Much of the charcoal in Goma is produced from trees in Virunga National Park.

While in Goma recently, Balemba, an employee of the park service (ICCN), came to speak to Mercy Corps about activities in the park. The ICCN patrols the park regularly, both to protect the gorilla population, but also to discourage charcoal production in the park. Balemba works with communities that live on the borders of Virunga National Park and strives to find ways to increase revenue for the local population in an environmentally friendly way.

Currently it is common practice for communities to engage in the charcoal trade as a way to make money. As an alternative, the ICCN is distributing biomass briquette presses to local associations. The associations receive training on how to make the briquettes and are responsible for collecting the biomass (which includes dried grass, sawdust or paper) needed to make them.

One press can produce approximately 500 briquettes per day. The briquettes can be used to cook with and are a cleaner energy source than charcoal. Mercy Corps is currently distributing briquettes to 700 beneficiaries for use in fuel efficient stoves.

Balemba warned that while the briquettes are largely a positive development, there are negative consequences to offsetting the charcoal trade. Briquette presses may be destroyed by the rebels that control the charcoal trade, or community members may be forced to produce or transport charcoal for them.

As with most things in Congo, it's a complex situation.

On Thursday, June 18, 2009 (6:00 am), Stephen Klaber wrote:

I'm very intrigued about your briquetting process. I've been approaching a similar process with some equipment from FoST in Nepal, and would like to know more about what you are using, and also about your fuel efficient stoves, which look like they might be more amenable to some of the metal short environments than their designs.

I am a rabble-rouser/cheerleader for the control of aquatic weeds through their exploitaion as an energy crop. Aquatic weeds, particularly Typha, are the shock army of the desert, infiltrating and conquering the wetlands. Their reduction and control would help solve and enormous number of problems, from flooding and cholera, through malaria, to desertification. Their enormous productivity and resilience make them an energy crop of terrifying renewability. With Typha, even ethanol is a winner. I hope that the grasses that you are feeding your briquetters include Typha and Phragmites.

I am hoping to start up a small demo project in Mauritania this year, where I have some contacts with some relevant experience, and spreading from there to Nigeria. Please tell me everything you can about the equipment you are using.

On Thursday, June 18, 2009 (12:11 pm), Laura Miller wrote:

Hi Stephen,

Thanks for your interest in the biomass briquettes. The ICCN and local associations have worked closely with the Africa Conservation Fund on this initiative. Their aim is to eventually have 5,000 presses in operation - currently there are about 100 in use. Youth at a local vocational training center in Goma make the presses.

Mercy Corps is using a clay fuel efficient stove design, which costs about $4 per stove. We're also piloting some metal/clay hybrid stoves which are proving to be very efficient. We have trained technicians that oversee the construction process and follow up with beneficiaries in the IDP camps. We estimate that a well maintained stove can last for up to three years.

To my knowledge, Typha and Phragmites are not in abundance in areas surrounding the park. The briquettes are made from relatively dry materials since any moisture in the briquettes make them hard to ignite.

Here are a couple of links that you might find informative:

http://gorillacd.org/2009/02/19/briquette-production-the-beginning-of-an...

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=gor...

On Thursday, July 2, 2009 (7:00 pm), Dick Raub wrote:

The making of briquets is important, but more so are far more efficient ways to cook with them for cooking. With open fires, much of their heat is wasted. As a result, this keeps the demand for wood high. In some parts of the world, there are efficient cooking stovesmade of clay. El porvenir has ecofogons in Nicaragua. These are made of concrete. Where clay is plentiful, the clay version is fine. But in places such as Haiti, the only material is concrete. The problem with the ecofogon is that there appear to be no available plans/schematics and ways to make the concrete molds. If someone has such plans including how to make the molds, I would appreciate receiving them.

On Tuesday, July 7, 2009 (12:00 am), Balemba wrote:

Hi Laura,
Thank you so much for your support so far. Let's make our environment a better place to live. Very best.
Balemba

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Blog Post Posted June 17, 2009, 2:37 pm by Laura Miller