Briquette Programme

The Briquette Programme in Virunga
Author, Virginia Echavarria

Although non-woody biomass briquettes have been successfully introduced elsewhere in the world, they have not been present in the Democratic Republic of Congo until last year, nor have they been introduced on such a large scale or to help avert such an imminent threat to both humans and animals alike. With the estimated time to total deforestation of Virunga National Park believed to be within five years if left unchecked, never has the need or stakes for a
sustainable fuel alternative project been higher.

Balemba, Jean Bosco and Roy giving demonstration at a refugee camp in Goma

One might expect the saving grace to be a new, cutting-edge technology, but in the case of this project, innovation takes the form of an appropriate technology that meets the current needs and capabilities of the local population. Presses can be made from locally available materials and don’t require advanced manufacturing capabilities. In fact, rudimentary carpentry skills are all that is
required. Briquettes production itself is ideally suited to the enormous pool of unskilled and unemployed labor that exists in North Kivu province.

Facts & Figures
Virunga’s project is innovative in that it redirects people away from the unsustainable cutting of trees and focuses them on using the abundant organic waste that exists all around them. Biomass briquettes can be made from a myriad of organic wastes – very few of which are currently being used for other purposes. In Goma for example, local printers actually burn their scrap paper because it is considered waste. This has now become one of the primary ingredients of the briquettes being made in this urban area. Lastly, with approximately six kilograms of wood required to make a single kilogram of charcoal, as compared to 100% of the heat capacity of the non-woody biomass briquette being applied toward its intended use, cooking and heating – the briquette is clearly a positive innovation. The material mixed for producing fuel briquettes has no waste at all, and the water used for mixing the ingredients as also recycled.

The presses are taken to even the most remote of villages	The cooking demo is always the most popular….

Based on the pre-project trials, at present monthly production of 1 briquette press is about 10,000 briquettes. Annually, the total comes down to 120,000 briquettes per press (that means a press machine produces a minimum 500 fuel briquettes per day – at present people are still spending half a day cultivating their fields).
For preparing meals, an average of 3 briquettes are used.

Briquette making training at Jomba

This project intends to combat deforestation through the application of natural economic forces. Simply put, biomass briquettes can be produced and are sold for less money than charcoal. They also have functional advantages over charcoal and fuel wood, namely briquettes cook meals faster and more efficiently. Feedback from pilot users confirms this and once introduced on a large scale, profit taking in the briquette market niche should attract players away from the less lucrative and illegal charcoal and fuel wood markets.

A wooden press machine can be locally built at USD$92 in Don Bosco (a Catholic congregation that helps street children and orphans). This press machine can employ 6 people. A larger group

Briquette drying ‘greenhouse’

is unnecessary, although it proves to be difficult to keep extra help out of the way, due to the high number of unemployed people in the premises.

An average of 800 to 1000 fuel briquettes can be produced per day (8 hour work). An average family (8 members) will consume 24 fuel briquettes per day (it is usually calculated at 3 fuel briquettes per person).

Because the materials for briquette production are free*, the labor figure becomes the main cost of making fuel briquettes for 34 families to use for one day. We then divide the cost of labor

Drying briquettes

by 50 to determine the cost of briquette fuel for one day, for one of the 34 families the briquette production will support.
=USD$ 0.26 per family per day

* In this scenario, it is assumed that a market value for certain waste streams will go from zero to some nominal amount. For example, wood mills might give away sawdust for free, but then start charging once it is realised that it has a value. Of course, this is true for charcoal fines as well.

 

 

Charcoal costs

Briquette making ‘kits’ delivered to remote communities

Goma: $30 per 80 kg. sack = USD$ 0.37 per kilogram
An average family (8 members) would consume 1 sac per month = USD$ 0.66 per family per day in Bukavu USD$ 1.00 per family per day in Goma

Note: The charcoal costing does not factor in social costs, destruction of Virunga NP (habitat destruction, erosion, biodiversity loss, etc.). Certainly, a case could be made for adding these costs. This price is for bulk purchase, therefore the price increases when bought in smaller quantities (on a daily basis, like most families do, because they lack access to cash).

Roy mends a mill

The equivalent consumption of one charcoal bag will be 1.5 fuel briquette’s bag.  Each fuel briquette bag contains 440 briquettes, and is currently sold in the market at USD 12. That means a family that consumes one charcoal bag a month at USD 30, would only be spending USD 18 for fuel briquettes for the same period.

Biomass briquettes are made from leaves, grass, coffee husks, sawdust, scrap paper, and wide array of other agricultural waste. Biomass, such as fallen leaves and grasses, exist in abundance throughout the region. Other sources of biomass, such as sawdust, scrap paper, and coffee husks can be obtained from local manufacturers and farms.

Hammer mills are often used to process biomass, such as leaves and grasses, which must be dried, crushed, and composted to break down the lignin and chlorophyll that exists in their unprocessed state. Pre-processed material such as sawdust and scrap paper do not require composting and are therefore highly desired. Press ready materials are dumped into buckets or basins in the desired ratio, mixed with water, and formed into slurries. The biomass slurry is then measured into cylinders and pressed into briquettes, using simple wood presses. These presses can be made with basic tools.

Virginia explaining about briquette making

The non-woody biomass briquette project makes use of an existing and proven technology, which finds it origins in the work of the Legacy Foundation. This organisation was started by a husband and wife team that worked for 14 years as Peace Corps volunteers in Africa, successfully teaching local communities in Tanzania and Malawi how to make a sustainable household fuel out of leaves, grasses, agricultural wastes, and other non-woody organic material. Subsequently, the Legacy Foundation has introduced this technology in Papua New Guinea, Peru, and Haiti with 70% of the press groups going on to create viable micro-enterprises.

New cooking stoves in Goma, ready for distribution

The target of the project is the people of North Kivu province. It provides the general population with a less expensive alternative to illegal forest charcoal at a time when half the average family income is spent on household fuel. Such a disproportionate amount of the total family budget spent on fuel, means families cannot afford proper nutrition or access to even the most basic healthcare. It also provides new employment in the form of supply chain activities, briquette production, and sales and marketing.

For example, the current project with its 50 press machines, has created 300 jobs so far (6 people per press machine).

This project aims at installing 1000 wooden press machines on the ground by the end of 2009, providing the general population with a less expensive alternative to illegal forest charcoal at a time when about half the average family income is spent on household fuel.

With 1,000 presses this project is capable of meeting the daily fuel needs of a minimum of 167,000 people. Also, each of the 1,000 micro-enterprises that will be set up for briquette production will provide direct employment to 6 people. It is therefore expected that at least 6,000 jobs are created in the biomass briquette production, plus an additional 100 jobs through other supply chain activities, sales and marketing.

Collecting briquettes at the end of a long day

The project not only donates all the necessary material to start the fuel briquette production (USD 227 between the press machine and all its accessories), but also acts as ‘the buyer’ and purchases their daily production.

The local population is not, however, the only beneficiary. Because biomass briquettes are comprised of organic materials found in abundance on the forest floor as well as in the low-lying areas outside the park boundaries, ecosystems are left intact. Hence the mountain gorillas and other fauna and flora of the Virunga National Park are also considered to be primary beneficiaries.

Lastly, the successful introduction of this alternative fuel source will also benefit the ICCN park rangers who are tasked with stopping tree cutting and charcoal production in the park and many of them have been injured or killed in the line of duty.

50 presses have been installed so far in Rumangabo, Viruma, Jomba, Bikenge, Bukima, Rubare, Rutshuru and Kiwanja, North Kivu. During the month of April 09, 80 more presses will be on the ground. As from May 09 onwards, 5 presses will be produced and

Cooked breakfast at Rumangabo, briquette-style…

installed per day.

The strategy is to work closely with ICCN, the Congolese Nature Conservation Authority, and local community organisations to produce and market briquettes.
Rangers currently working as community liaisons lead the effort to build awareness.

In addition to awareness building, field trainers identify and select the community organisations invited to become briquette producers. These organisations then attend comprehensive 2-day training courses covering briquette production, marketing and sales. Upon successful completion of all course work, the project supplies each organisation with a complete press set-up, after care and monitoring through the course of the year.

As from May 2009, press machine manufacturing will be centrally located at Virunga National Park headquarters in Rumangabo in order to reduce production and distribution costs. We are currently rehabilitating an ancient building and setting up in house carpentry.

courtesy of gorila.cd