Many poor people in the southernmost province of Ca Mau burn forests to obtain charcoal, running the gauntlet of years in jail and even shooting by rangers. “We know we are burning our own homes, but what else can we do to feed ourselves?”
Fuels
Various types of fuels
NEWS: Charcoal is Uganda’s “black gold.”
“The charcoal trade, referred to as “black gold” by Kampala traders, has become more profitable than the forests where trees are being indiscriminately cut down for charcoal-burning.”
Weekend reading: Focus on Cookstove Fuels
Ned Starck is rumored to have said, “Winter is coming. And every home needs a good stove. And every stove needs good fuel.”
NEWS: Grain farmers shifting to planting trees, especially for fuel
Via Kenya’s Daily Nation — (16/04/2013) Investment in private forestry is becoming profitable, in Western Kenya due to increased demand for wood fuel by textile and food processing industries.
Grain farmers who have invested in commercial forestry are recording huge profits as a result of the high demand for wood products that has outstripped forest plantation establishments.
WASHplus Update focuses on fuel “stacking”
In this issue of WASHplus Weekly, the focus is on fuel “stacking,” which is the use of multiple fuels/stoves at one time. Stacking is a complex factor that influences the adoption and use of cookstoves. In many households, traditional stoves are used at the same time as improved cookstoves, or the different stoves may be used for different foods. Evidence points to the simultaneous use of different fuel regardless of income levels. Households continue to use different fuels as their incomes rise, and they do not immediately abandon the use of fuelwood. Other factors, such as reliability of supply, safety, and taste preferences of food cooked using fuelwood, may be factors under consideration by households.