The Charcoal Project

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Foreign investment to protect Ghana forest not keeping up w destruction

Posted on by Jean Kim Chaix

NEWS: Indiscriminate felling of trees for firewood and charcoal to either sell or for domestic use is a routine for most locals in Ghana.

At the same time it’s a major contributing factor eating up the forests.

About 69 percent of all urban households use charcoal for cooking and heating and the annual per capita consumption is around 180 kg. The total annual consumption is about 700,000 tons, 30 percent of which is consumed in the capital Accra, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

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Ugandan schoolmaster leads way in seeking energy efficiency & sustainable renewable fuels for schools

Posted on by Jean Kim Chaix

Born to a very poor family, orphaned at a young age, Henry Twinemasiko is providing hope and education to 1,650 schoolchildren in this remote corner of Uganda.

Henry’s next mission is to bring clean-burning biomass fuels and green technology to the schools and the community’s 15,000 inhabitants.

At The Charcoal Project we are proud and humbled to be Henry’s partner.

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The Charcoal Project goes boots-on-the-ground in Uganda

Posted on by Jean Kim Chaix

“Whatever you can do or imagine, begin it; boldness has beauty, magic, and power in it.” – Goethe We were giddy with excitement and full of dreams when we launched The Charcoal Project in late 2009. But the truth is we had no idea what awaited us. Now, almost a year and half later — slightly out of breath from the steep learning curve — we’re happy to report The Charcoal Project is standing on solid ground and is ready to expand the scope of its work. That is why our next few posts will be dedicated to our projects Continue reading→

Lost Kittens, or, How Bollywood ate my traffic

Posted on by Jean Kim Chaix

Postcard from Digital Frontier I knew things had gone well for The Charcoal Project after attending the amazing PCIA conference in Lima last week. But I wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of traffic we began receiving early Monday morning. What was it? Was it my presentation on our visionary Biomass Energy Efficiency Project (BEEP) in Rubaare, Uganda? Was it our plan to organize an International Conference on Charcoal in Africa in 2012? Or maybe it was something more subtle… like the bar games and tricks I performed to a rapt audience at the chicken restaurant “Donde Walter.” Or, maybe, just Continue reading→

Tragedy in the DRC’s Virunga National Park

Posted on by Jean Kim Chaix

It is with extreme sadness that we received today’s announcement that three park rangers and five Congolese soldiers were killed during an attack on their patrol vehicle in Congo’s Virunga National Park. (Read the blog post by Emmanuel de Merode, Chief Park Warden and member of the Board of Adviser of The Charcoal Project.) Illegal charcoal production in the park is the single greatest threat to the survival of the mountain gorilla. Virunga National Park, which has implemented a successful briquette program in communities surrounding the park, has been a partner and supporter of The Charcoal Project since day one. Continue reading→