The Charcoal Project

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

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

“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

East Africa, droughts, and the impact on biomass availability

Via Climate Change News, a online publication of EESI (Environmental & Energy Study Institute) New Research Predicts Less Precipitation for East Africa as Global Temperatures Rise On March 4, a study published in Climate Dynamics predicted that droughts common in eastern Africa are likely to continue if global temperatures rise further. Researchers studied temperature, windspeed, and precipitation data over a 20-30 year period to determine what drove climate variations in the tropical Indian and Pacific Ocean regions. They found that the Indian Ocean has warmed exceptionally fast, increasing rainfall over the ocean and the westward movement of air over Eastern Continue reading

Mega-million $ partnership to kickstart clean cookstove deployment in Nigeria

Hi, folks, we received the following communication from Simon Bishop of Shell Foundation: Good morning Shell Foundation is pleased to announce today a new cross-sector partnership that aims to tackle Indoor Air Pollution (IAP) at scale in Nigeria. The partnership between ourselves, Envirofit International (a global clean cookstoves business) and C-Quest Capital (a US-base carbon finance business) aims to deliver two million improved cook-stoves to Nigerian households over the next seven years. It will do this by using carbon credits to make cookstoves more affordable in Nigeria. Clean cookstoves are the most viable solution to IAP – the toxic smoke that Continue reading

KENYA: Despised tree finds new life as woodfuel

Decades ago, the mathenge tree (prosopis juriflora) was introduced to East Africa from South America to combat desertification. But the “law of unintended consequences” turned the experiment into a failure. Now residents of Baringo district in Kenya are finding new uses for this reviled tree species.

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