Agro-Charcoal in Chad as Vocational Enterprises

Since the beginning of December, the ENVODEV Chad Team has been working relentlessly at making the charcoal project happen. After a successful demonstration and preliminary training at Nya, we have been in the process of building new carbonizing kilns to transform as much rice-straw as possible. Fidel, the leader of the Nya Team, warned us that cultivators have already begun burning away rice-straw in their fields, and that we need to move quickly and do a full-training session as soon as possible. A full training session will last three to five days, and require funds we are still in the process of gathering. Global Giving has yet to begin the disbursement of funds raised during the December Challenge, during which over $5,000 USD was collected.

In the meantime, our ENVODEV Team has explored another area where rice is extensively cultivated. Dadje Aquilas and Rodoumbaye Ghislain reached a location called Tilo, just 20 km east of Moundou. This area is very productive, and a local team is already set up to receive training in Tilo. Dadje Aquilas and Djems, a Chadian volunteer, performed a first carbonization demonstration at Tilo, and have greatly motivated the new Team called « KOSGUELBE. » Tilo will reinforce charcoal production capacity by sending carbonized rice-straw back to Moundou, where charcoal briquette production will actually take place.

By contributing to our project, you are participating in the economic development and environmental protection of Chad. Thank you for your support, and for taking interest in one of the most neglected regions of the world.

 David De Armey

International Director

Lapia! (Hello!),

as it gets colder and colder in the US, it's getting hotter and hotter in Chad! It has reached 100'F almost every day this month. It's not kept our team from staying very busy with the charcoal project. We have been running a few tests; carbonizing new forms of biomass such as sesame straw, and corn stocks. Our tests have been very successful, which means we're amplifying the range and amount of biomass that can be used for briquette production. We're excited about this! 

In the meantime, we spent Sunday the 9th in Nya. We gathered members of the future production team and given them an initial training session. They are eager to get started. The equipment for Nya has been prepared already, but we still need to purchase protection masks, work suits, gloves, and increase the number of kilns. This is where your support comes in. We will not be able to move forward without your investment.

We are just over half-way our December objective! Thank you!!

So let me briefly explain how production will work! 

1. We train and equip "carbonization" teams. They are the owners of the vast rice fields around Nya. They will only focus on just carbonizing it all.

2. We train a group of briquette makers in Moundou, who will purchase the carbonized straw from the field owners.

3. Manioc cultivators will intensify their production, and sell the manioc directly to the briquette makers. 

4. The briquettes will be sold on the local market in Moundou, where charcoal is the most urgently needed. 

5. The earnings will pay for the briquette makers, and provide enough funds to keep buying manioc and carbonized rice-straw from the Nya team. 

Your investment in this project will be generating economic activity for at least 20 people, and that number will rise the more people we can train to carbonize rice straw and other types of agro-waste. Manioc cultivators will also greatly benefit from intensifying their manioc production. Your investment will also provide the city of Moundou with a legal and valuable form of cooking fuel. The money that is usually spent on illegal charcoal and wood will be used to stimulate economic activity among poor rural cultivators. 

Thank you for reading! We'll continue to inform you as the project moves forward,

Go Eco-Charcoal!

Links:

• David De Armey threshing rice in Nya.

Moundou, Chad (NEWS) -

Dear Friends,

we have been working hard with our APRO-ECO team (Protection of the Ecosystem Association). APRO-ECO is the Moundou-based Eco-charcoal production team ENVODEV has worked with for the past year. ENVODEV has been training three members of APRO-ECO who will assist us in training the future Nya team. In the meantime, ENVODEV has met with people in Nya, who are now getting organized and mobilizing local rice cultivators so they do not burn the rice straw. 

What have we been doing exactly this week? We've been collecting rice-straw from around Moundou, and gotten the three APRO-ECO members to carbonize it. They have been working intensively. Though the method is straightforward, we are going over each and every detail of the pyrolysis process. When the time comes, either next week or the following, APRO-ECO Team will be ready to give a solid training in Nya. 

We've collected a lot of rice-straw, and this training period has already given APRO-ECO the ability to produce a good amount of briquettes (some 1000 briquettes in the past 2 days). 

Thanks for your support. Everyone is asking for these briquettes, whether it is our neighbors or the governor of the region himself. This new form of cooking fuel is what it's all about!