Biomass Briquettes Fuel & Stoves to Mitigate Deforestation

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DEFINITION OF TERMS USED IN THIS REPORT

ICS = Ceramic cook-stoves

SDG =Sustainable Development G oals

LMEs =Last-Mile Entrepreneurs

MRV = Monitoring, Reporting and Verification

NDC = Nationally Determined Contribution

GHG = Green-House-Gas

PCC = Project Coordination Committees

GAP = Gender Action Plan

MNRT = Natural Resources and Tourism

MEM = Energy and Minerals

MoF = Ministry of Finance

VTC = Vocational Training Centres

LPG = Liquefied Petroleum Gas

HAP = Household Air Pollution

NGO = Non-Government Organization

GCF = Global Environment Facility

TCJ = Tanzanian Ceramic Jiko

ESMP = Project Environmental and Social Management Plan

PM = Particulate Matter

CO = Carbon Monoxide

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PROBLEM

Biomass is still the only available energy source for 2.7 billion people world-wide, especially in Africa. Inefficient biomass ceramic cook-stoves, commonly based on fire-wood or charcoal, increase de­forestation and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In addition, they emit smoke containing carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM), which cause respiratory diseases leading to 1.6 million deaths each year world-wide.

Although charcoal is the single most important energy source for millions, especially in urban dwellers in Africa, being used by all tiers of society; contributing to energy security, sustainable forest management, and poverty alleviation strategies. Biomass briquettes as fuel for cooking & ceramic cook-stoves to mitigate deforestation in Africa – Renewable Clean Energy Technology.   

Problem in facing people of the capital city of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania, where has population 5 million, and they consume charcoal approximately 750,000 tons/year which leads to deforestation and biodiversity and causing environmental degradation.

Besides, the seasonal dependent such that the charcoal price nearly doubles during the rainy season because of difficulty to operate charcoal kilns during the rainy season which extends for six month in year in Dar es Salaam. 

The problem is large scale in our communities in Dar-es-Salaam because 70% of people who are living there are using charcoal as fuel for cooking every day.

SOLUTION

FIRSTLY: To solve is a problem about charcoal and in Tanzania: (1) Making biomass briquettes as fuel for cooking, (2) Manufacture and sell ceramic cook-stoves to our clients, (3) Mitigation of green-house-gas CO2 in atmosphere. Tanzania has about 15 million tons/year of agricultural waste (maize cobs & rice husk) and 1.8 million tons/year of forest residues (saw dust & branches of wood) which could be EASILY converted to briquettes by a mechanical ram-press. The briquettes are coming out the other of ram-press and are sold as fuel for cooking INSTEAD of charcoal which cause deforestation and biodiversity.

We also negotiated exclusive licenses from China to manufacture machinery equipment in Tanzania where automatically they produce biomass briquettes.

SECONDLY:  Because ceramic cook-stoves which we manufacture are more efficient than traditional or open-fire stoves, they can yield substantial fuel savings.

The benefits of ceramic cook-stoves

• Fuel savings (money)
• Better health
• Less pollution
• New jobs created 

The people who live in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) are facing the primary problem on cooking fuel because 70% of them depend on charcoal which is coming more scarce commodity. We (Reliable Energy Access Promotion), have found the solution for the problem.

The business has worked very well for us because when we sell the cook-stoves by credit which they are paid fully in four month by our clients.  The end-users buy our briquettes always daily.

COMPANY: The Reliable Energy Access Promotion is registered in Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania in 2009.  We are currently: (1) Make biomass briquettes as fuel for cooking, (2) Sell briquettes to clientele (households & businesses) in Dar-es-Salaam, and (3) Manufacture ceramic cook-stoves and their sold to clientele.

TARGET MARKET

The target market in Dar es Salaam are divided into three categories: (1) Households  actually 5 million people who live in Dar es Salaam, (2) Businesses where they prepare fast food (like kiosks) for the people go buy food every day, and  (3) Schools where the students they go to buy foods.

Although charcoal is the single most important energy source for millions of urban dwellers in Tanzania, being used by all tiers of society from laborers to politicians, it seems to be politically neglected and even unwanted, given that it is not considered as a possible mean to achieve long-term sustainable development, for example as a low-carbon growth option contributing to energy security, sustainable forest management, and poverty alleviation strategies.

The largely unregistered and unregulated production and use of charcoal give reason to serious environmental concerns that call for a comprehensive reform of the sector.

Building on the World Bank (2015)[1], recent policy note on potential reforms of the charcoal sector in Tanzania, This report aims to facilitate the policy dialogue around charcoal sector reforms by providing analytical information on the political economy of this sector and on the potential poverty and social impacts of a sustainability oriented reform agenda. The formal governance framework of the charcoal sector in Tanzania is characterized by weak institutionalization, law enforcement, and other regulatory capacity, as well as regulatory overlaps and gaps. There is no comprehensive policy, strategy, or legal framework in Tanzania addressing the charcoal sector.

Four ministries share responsibility and over the years each of these ministries has issued a range of legal and policy documents that directly or indirectly pertain to the charcoal sector, but that are rarely known in their entirety to governmental or non-governmental charcoal sector stakeholders. As a result, substantial uncertainty governs most transactions along the charcoal-value-chain.  Charcoal which leads deforestation of 250,000 hectares/year are forests and biodiversity are destroyed in Tanzania

There is little incentive for government bodies at the district or village level to implement and monitor (unclear) charcoal-related policies due to a lack of legal and fiscal empowerment, combined with low monitoring and enforcement capacity. Despite Tanzania’s remarkable success in adopting Participatory Forest Management approaches, land use rights and ownership of forest assets often remain unclear or unknown to government officials and non-governmental stakeholders at the village or district level.

The de facto control over the charcoal sector is largely in the hands of influential charcoal-dealer-transporter-wholesaler-networks. They dominate an informal governance system that is characterized by their own strong pricing power; the weak bargaining power of charcoal producers; collusion with government officials; organizational levels; and that is driven by the unrelentingly high demand for charcoal by urban consumers.

The dealer-transporter-wholesaler networks would be strongly opposed to reform elements that aim at increasing the share of official payments to be made (currently estimated at 15% while decreasing the discretion with which the dealers currently navigate all transactions along the charcoal-value-chain. However, the dealers’ dependence on charcoal trade and transport also implies that they may find those components of the reform program favorable that intend to make charcoal production more sustainable because this would ensure continued business opportunities.

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[1] Enabling Reforms - The World Bank, A Stakeholder-Based Analysis of the Political, Economy of Tanzania’s Charcoal Sector and the, Poverty and Social Impacts of Proposed Reforms, June 2010

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The management and staff of company (Reliable Energy Access Promotion Tanzania), have wide ranging experience in the bio-energy business.  Key management of the company staff member are discussed. Our team is well-positioned to deliver this solution

OSCAR PETER: Team leader and is Managing Director for company Reliable Energy Access Promotion in Dar es Salaam. He is a Mechanical Engineering with specialization in the utilization of alternative fuels. He has work experience over 28 years. He has extensive experience, strong leadership, development and dissemination of biomass briquettes and cook-stoves in Tanzania. Briquettes from agriculture wastes and forest residuals have been key element in addressing energy needs and deforestation and biodiversity problem in Tanzania.

PHILIP SAMBERA: Director of Engineering with 19 year experience in equipment design and commissioning. He was instrumental in the implementation biomass briquettes and improved cook-stoves. His role in this project is to oversee factory installation, commissioning and successful operation of the factory for biomass briquettes and improved cook-stove manufacturing.

GIDEON MANDARA: Consultant for the project and chemical engineer with 30 years of experience. He has extensive skills in wide area including: Planning, management and including: environment, community-based, appropriate technology; community-managed; women’s economic, social empowerment; finance & enterprise development, strategic planning, management, monitoring & evaluation of integrated area-based projects.

Studies[1] show that over 300,000 rural families depend on charcoal production and sales for their primary source of cash income. Charcoal accounts for more cash earnings in rural areas than any other activity. Rural earnings from charcoal are greater than the the combine of sell of coffee, tea, cotton, sugar, cashews or horticultural crops. It is estimated that more than 750,000 tones/year of charcoal is consumed annually in Tanzania, primarily by urban households, but, also by hotels, restaurants, and various other commercial entities.

The briquettes factory will serve in cleaner and cheaper cooking fuel for households particularly in Dar es Salaam where charcoal is price quite high.   By involving the local communities in factory maintenance and supply of biomass, the technology has an outreach impact beyond the mere supply of briquettes. The company will hire skilled and non-skilled personnel for regular wear-and-tear repair and the annual planned major equipment overhaul for parts replacement and maintenance. 

Know-how to build locally and employment is generated.  Briquettes become available potentially creating job opportunities and economic growth will dramatically reduce poverty in the area, encourage literacy and reduce unemployment.  Since, the factory provides direct benefit (access to employment, briquettes and cook-stoves manufacturing) to the local neighbourhood, the community, therefore perceived a sense of ownership of the briquettes factory.

Gender equity and other social impacts: Disproportionate risks of negative house-air-pollution (HAP) linked health outcomes and physical injury for women and girls, given their proximity to cooking fires and primary responsibility for firewood collection in many cultures; decreased educational opportunities for children involved in fuel collection; impaired nutrition because of the diversion of resources to fuel purchases; and home environments damaged by smoke and soot.

These contribute to the community in Tanzania; sustainable development is includes social, economic & environmental benefits.

SOCIAL BENEFITS: Create opportunities for increased productivity through burning biomass briquettes in high-efficiency cook-stoves and reduce the time used for cooking or searching for wood-fuel.

ECONOMIC BENEFITS: Selling of agricultural wastes, operation and maintenance of the briquettes plant will create employment and reduce poverty.  Women and youth will particularly benefit by collecting and selling biomass.

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS: Sound and efficient disposal of residues and reduction of green-house-gases by substituting briquettes with charcoal potentially reduce environmental degradation.

TECHNOLOGICAL BENEFITS: Experience the benefits of the new technology getting transferred to their community.  This will trigger the growth of small establishments and entrepreneurial activities for catering to the peripheral needs such as machine shops for factory maintenance and the manufacturing of cook-stoves.

GOVERNANCE:  By involving local communities in business of biomass briquettes factory and supply of biomass, the technology has an outreach impact beyond the mere supply of briquettes. Know-how is built locally and employment is generated.

GENDER-SENSITIVE: Women play a crucial role in the widespread adoption and use of improved cook-stoves solutions because of their central responsibility for managing household energy and cooking. As consumers and users of cook-stoves, women are not just victims but a critical component of the sector’s ability to scale. Access to clean cooking options especially benefits women and children by improving conditions under which meals are prepared, reducing respiratory diseases, reducing time spent on cooking and saving money. Thus, women will be mainly trained in terms of production and sale of biomass briquettes & cook-stoves as well as sale, repair and monitoring of the stoves.

Using a gender equality approach that recognizes the conditions and needs of both men and women, (1) Identifies the possible gender equality challenges and opportunities as part of the project assessment, (2) Highlights the risks and potentially negative impacts of the project on gender equality, (3) Examples of indicators for the monitoring and evaluation of operations in the renewable energy sector.

Likewise, our facility the empowerment of women, as it can help demonstrate the value of their contribution and strengthen their position in the community and in their respective households.

OPPORTUNITY

Our typical customers are the people who leave in the capital in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. The customers who use the biomass briquettes as fuel INSTEAD of charcoal.

The households which are many, using biomass briquettes as fuel as well. The ideal customers are those businesses where they prepare fast food (like kiosks) for the people go buy foods. Some primary & secondary schools where the students go they go to buy foods as well. .

GOAL and Specific OBJECTIVES

The key GOAL of this project will be to provide an alternative energy source to the users of villages and towns to substitute the commonly used fuel wood, which is less efficient, more polluting and negatively contributing to the environment.

The specific OBJECTIVES, thus, are provided as follows:

1. Promote use of more efficient and cleaner briquettes among the users of fuel wood that requires frequent trips to collect or buy fuel wood causing health hazards due to indoor air pollution.  Burning biomass briquettes in high-efficiency cook-stoves saves about 30% fuel costs and also reduces smoke-related health hazards

2. Utilize the unwanted biomass resources such as agricultural wastes and forest residues and convert it into briquettes to substitute the use of fuel wood, which is the major cause of deforestation and biodiversity and environment degradation in Tanzania. The initial production (25 tons/day), and selling of briquettes will benefit 50,000 households per day in Dar es Salaam to reduce fuel costs and less pollution.

3. Generate for employment those working in factory of production of briquettes. Similarly, self-employment to the collectors of raw materials, transporters, dealers and entrepreneurs who distribute briquettes to the end users creating 25 direct jobs and indirectly support 5 jobs.

4. Promote entrepreneurship in the sector of biomass briquettes for household and commercial cooking. We envisaged to train and assist five to ten entrepreneurs every year to establish biomass briquettes business.  The market potential for briquettes is huge; briquettes factory can supply only 3% of demand in Dar es Salaam alone.

5. The project aims to demonstrate the technical feasibility and financial viability of biomass briquettes technology in Tanzania. In Dar es Salaam, for example, the briquettes are currently sold about 50% cheaper than charcoal and high efficiency cook-stoves save consumer 30% fuel costs.  The proven biomass briquettes technology is sustainable and environmentally sound.

6. The project will promote and disseminate the use of briquettes as an alternative energy source to fuel wood for cooking. It will provide technology for production and distribution of briquettes to the peri-urban in the city of Dar-es-Salaam. We envisage acquiring a license from China to locally manufacture machinery equipment to make briquettes in Tanzania for technology dissemination. 

Tanzania: Heavily reliance on solid biomass in implies that most of the cooking technologies in use are biomass cook-stoves. These include traditional biomass cook-stoves (traditional metallic charcoal stoves) and improved biomass cook-stoves (different varieties or both charcoal and fuel).

For charcoal stoves in Tanzania, most production is of the Tanzanian Ceramic Jiko (TCJ). This is now counted as a baseline stove, but it has very good efficiency compared to other traditional charcoal stoves used across Africa. It is the product of the first-generation donor-supported ICS. Many small producers produce it in similar conditions as the other local stoves. The project does not have statistics on how many producers are involved in TCJ production. The project proposes to support producers to disseminate a new charcoal stove in Tanzania that is currently being tested, that should be affordable and robust, and meet the Tanzanian national cook-stove standard.

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[1] CHAPOSA 2001; CHAPOSA 2002; Hoiser and Kipondya 1993; Malimbwi et al. 2007; Mwampamba 2007; Schlag and Zuzarte 2008; PREM 2007; van Beukering et al. 2007; World Bank 2006

BARRIERS TO ACCOMPLISH OUR GOALS:

TECHNICAL: Lack of consumers’ ability or willingness to pay premiums on more efficient briquettes and improved cook-stoves which have being developed by our company. Absence of wide-spread awareness campaigns.is a key reason some consumers are not willing to change from charcoal to briquettes which are 40% cheaper.

FINANCIAL: One of the main challenges cited in working with last-mile entrepreneurs is a lack of business skills, specifically financial management. Several interviewees said this lack of financial management skills was a deal breaker in their exploring this sales channel, or that they had dropped this channel after the entrepreneurs they were working with showed poor financial management capacity.

CULTURAL: Because women are the primary users of household energy products, such as cook-stoves, they also have the potential to catalyze the stove market as micro-entrepreneurs. Women entrepreneurs, however, require additional support in training, mentorship, and access to resources to succeed, because they often have less access to finance and more demands on their time.

LEGAL: As highlighted, the legal, policy and regulatory framework for biomass energy is not only rooted in the past, when there was little urbanisation and little commercial biomass energy. Plans and policies of all the ministries noted above, none of them have an explicit biomass energy policy. Herewith, one of the most significant gaps in developing a coherent biomass energy strategy.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Impacts

The project will deliver numerous sustainable development benefits and will make a tangible contribution to a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) via reduction of energy poverty (SDG 1), lessening exposure to health risks (SDG 3), reducing drudgery for women in collecting wood fuel (SDG 5), improving access to modern energy (SDG 7), reducing GHG emissions and strengthening communities’ resilience to climate change (SDG 13), and diminishing pressure on deforestation and biodiversity and  resources (SDG 15) for 5 million people who live in capital of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. 

Other sustainable development benefits of the project include reduction of energy poverty, creation of new long-term jobs, additional opportunities for education and income-generating activities, in particular for women engaged in ICS value chain.

There is mounting evidence that biomass burned inefficiently contributes to climate change at regional and global levels, suggesting that the climate change debate needs to take household energy issues into consideration. In developing countries, about 730 million tons of biomass are burned each year, amounting to more than 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted into the atmosphere (WHO and UNDP 2009).     

Despite the technological development and technical availability of the improved cook-stoves in many developing countries, as described above, still several barriers to a successful implementation of this technology exist in some regions in the world: (1) High initial cost, (2) Lack of financing mechanisms, (3) Lack of performance assurance or product standard, and (4) Lack of local expertise or know-how or skills.

Improved Cook-Stoves (ICS) & Market Monitoring and Impact Evaluation

Monitoring and Evaluation: This is an important component of the program to meet the overall project objectives.  Review will be carried out on a periodic basis to address any barriers:  technical, managerial, or related to implementation issues by the company (Reliable Energy Access Promotion), will provide management and trained staff to operate the factory and all technical support matters.

The project will conduct regular monitoring of ICS market development and evaluation of project impacts as further detailed.

The monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) system is designed to deliver reliable results. On a monthly basis the producers will be visited and the production and sales will be assessed and compared with the sales of the distributers. Additional sales with increased quality and quantity are generated due to and as consequence of the project’s investment in professionalization kits, investment packages and Technical assistance (TA) for accelerated production and sales.  

Scaling-up ICS adoption also reduces the pressure on forests and biodiversity, reduces drudgery for women in collecting wood fuel, and saves money if fuel needs to be purchased. Benefits from wide-scale adoption of improved cook-stoves outweigh their costs by seven-fold if and when their health, social, and environmental benefits are accounted for.

SOLUTION INNOVATIVE:

Production of biomass briquettes involves densification of waste biomass by pressing. The raw materials needed for making biomass briquettes are derived from agricultural wastes (rice husks and bagasse) and forest residues (saw dust & woods) and use of cassava starch as binder.  Because of the nature of the raw materials, ram-type press will be used to manufacture rice husks briquettes while roller-press will be used to manufacture briquettes from carbonized saw-dust to char-dust.  The saw-dust is available from saw mills or by grinding waste wood using pulverizing machine.  Note that the proposed two types of briquettes presses are to enable handling the wide variety of raw materials available in Tanzania for making biomass briquettes. The char-dust is mixed with cooked cassava starch or molasses as a binder.  The char-dust-binder mixture which is about 10% moisture content.

MAKING BIOMASS BRIQUETTES:

Market of charcoal is huge and sold in Dar es Salaam.  Out of this, 10% are wasted as char-dust when charcoal is sold by vendors. Within one year there piles of char-dust about 36,500 tons/year of charcoal are wasted. We collect char-dust and use ram-press machine to press them to produce densified briquettes and sell them as fuel for cooking.

Our core business is: (1) Char-dust are wasted when charcoal is sold by vendors in Dar es Salaam, (2) The agricultural wastes and forest residuals, (3) These wastes are processed and converted to briquettes using ram-press. We sell briquettes as cooking fuel instead of unsuitable charcoal which cause environmental degradation.

These piles of char-dust are wasted after charcoal is sold by vendors in Dar es Salaam.  These char-dust we are actually collected; and we recycle them to make biomass briquettes.

ROCESS WE MAKE BRIQUETTES: (1) We mix: char-dust + agricultural wastes + binder + water, (2) Use oval-press machine to press the mixture together to form densified briquettes, (3) They densified briquettes are going to dried in HOT SUN for three days until they are dried, and (4)  The dried briquettes are ready to be packed and sold to clients. The clients are already bought the cook-stoves.

We hire vehicles to distribute briquettes and cook-stoves in our outlets (centers) where our clients will go to buy. They pay us by mobile money and it is easier for us and the clients – they come to buy our briquettes every day.

We have a competitive advantage: (1) Know-how to make briquettes, (2) Logistic we have gathering raw-material to making briquettes, and (3) Making and selling briquettes and cook-stoves to clients. We are well-positioned as leaders in briquettes in Tanzania.

MANUFACTURING CERAMIC COOK-STOVES[1]

The project will enable current artisanal stove producers to reach the professional level of operations and professional stove producers to attain a business class status in terms of both production scale and effectiveness. When the majority of companies in the ICS sector moves from artisanal to professional and business category and reach the level of sales, which they can sustain on their own, it means that the market enters into the ‘expansion’ stage.

Making cook-stoves involve the couple processes. (1) Mix thoroughly clay sand with a small portion of rice husk, (2) Make the shape of cook-stoves by spinning at low speed, (3) We dried the shape cook-stoves in sun for three days, (4) The shapes are taken into brick-furnace-kiln at a temperature 13000 C, they stay there for 24 hours, and (5) The dried and hardened shapes-with-clay are taken out of the brick-furnace-kiln then are cooled, and (6) The metal cylindrical shape are rapped outside, they are painted, and are ready to sold to clients. They can last for 2 - 3 years before customers they buy new ones cook-stoves.

Most of these people, use cook-stoves which they are made by local artisans. We have introduced improved cook-stoves which can: (1) Reduce fuel consumption, (2) Reduce cooking time, (3) Reduce particulate matter emission by 70%, and (4) Mitigating green-house-gas in the atmosphere by reduced pressure on deforestation and biodiversity.                                                                                                                                                            We currently sell biomass briquettes at $ 0.20/kg and urban households are expected to need an average 2 stoves per family and purchase an average of 45 kg per month of briquettes Therefore, cost approximately $18 per month to buy briquettes as fuel of cooking.

The price of selling biomass briquettes made of char-dust is about 50% less than that of charcoal. That is, 1 kg of charcoal = $ 0.5. Similarly, 1 kg of briquettes = $ 0.24.

Given that there about 100 tons/day they are wasted in the capital city of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) where we collect them and process them as briquettes (as shown below in website). We will sell briquettes = $0.24 per kg, equivalent of $1.64 million/year (Gross Income).

THERMAL ENERGY SAVINGS:

The thermal energy savings of the project are below the qualifying limit under the small scale methodology AMS-II.G. (Gold Standard, August, 2017) by up to the equivalent of 180 GWh thermal in any year.

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[1] Please also see the discussion on co-benefits to the project in C.3. This project will not address the value chains for the supply of biomass, as these can be effectively addressed in other projects focused on the forestry sector.

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IMPACT ON THE GOAL

ONE YEAR PLAN: Number of clients we will be serving in one year we will grow our business to serve clients 50,000 every day.  Similarly, we have sold about 7,000 cook-stoves

FIVE YEAR PLAN: Number of clients we will be serving in five year we will grow our business to serve clients 95,000 every day.  Similarly, we would have sold about 10,000 cook-stoves

We will hire more people as needs arise to make briquettes and cook-stoves. We have long term agreement to hire vehicles which we use to carry and supply and sell briquettes to our clients.

MARKETING BIOMASS BRIQUETTES & COOK-STOVES: Smart marketing, innovative packaging and in general good entrepreneurship are further requirements for success. When introducing biomass briquettes in the local market substantial marketing efforts including promotional and publicity campaigns are needed. It is important therefore, that the advantages of long-burn duration (compared with charcoal) are promoted by briquette producers. Women need to be the target group for any marketing and sensitization campaign that have the objective of enhancing the dissemination of biomass briquettes & cook-stoves

In order to achieve our goal details assumptions has worked very well for us so far as our business is to-date. We hope to get the grant to enable us funding to scale-up technology

Gender Impacts and Gender Mainstreaming

The gender assessment carried out for the project shows that the project has major positive impacts on gender equality, by reducing household work for women and providing opportunities for women to engage in paid work. The project has no potential negative gender impacts.

Surveys of gender impacts of the baseline projects were available for each country and extensive consultations have been held with women organisations in both countries to assess gender aspects of the programme. The most significant outcomes of these consultations are that women still feel less confident than men to engage in entrepreneurship and to address administrations or other formal organisations, and less capable of writing and keeping records. This lack of skills and confidence hampers their access to finance, to available assistance programmes, and to procurement opportunities.

General project impact statement: the project increases gender equality by reducing household work for women and making them participate in the cook-stove value chains

As women are almost unanimously the main users of cook-stoves and responsible for the fuel collection or purchase, they are the ones benefiting most from reduced fuel usage and local emissions.

Ensure project co-benefits of employment and income generation accrue to women equally, by overcoming barriers to economic participation.

Differentiated consultation of men and women, equal participation of men and women in decision-making in project activities, and gender-differentiated approaches to awareness raising, design and production

◘Specific roles of men and women are harnessed as agents of change

♦Work with women’s groups in awareness-raising, design and production

◘Gender mainstreaming capacity in the project teams is increased

♦Strengthen capacity of project team to carry out gender mainstreaming activities, among others by sharing existing experience of project partners

In terms of gender impacts, as women (and children) are almost unanimously the main users of cook-stoves and responsible for the fuel collection or purchase, they are the ones benefiting most from reduced fuel usage and local emissions. The project further increases gender equality by reducing household work for women and making them participate in the cook-stove value chains. This impact is further enhanced by ensuring women’s participation in decision-making in the project activities, and providing specific trainings in, among others, entrepreneurship for women.

PROJECT ACTIVITIES AND SCHEDULING 

Monitoring of the indicators (Shown below) will performed by regularly collecting and analysing information to identify and possibly measure changes over a period of time to assist taking corrective measures and assess the impact on the project.  Stakeholders will hold regular meetings to facilitate proper sequence of activities to achieve desired outcome in a timely manner.  Below list the M&E activities for tracking and report on the progress of the project.

THEORY OF CHANGE

Half of the world population are using biomass-fueled cook-stoves. Biomass stoves represent an intersection of opportunities to address health, environment, poverty, and gender concerns on a wide scale. However, theories of change implicitly assume the behavior change that translates improved cook-stove performance into desired outcomes and impacts.

People have been using inefficient cook-stoves because clean and efficient cook-stoves are not available in peri-urban and rural areas. By providing clean cook-stoves to replace the old inefficient three-stone burning, the aim is to reduce indoor pollution.

ACTIVITY

►Consumers switching from the traditionally three-stone which is low-efficient, instead, high burning biomass briquettes as fuel for cooking.

►Given their important intra-household health externalities and the public goods nature of their environmental benefits, there are likely strong rationales for communities to use of biomass briquettes & improved cook-stoves.

OUTCOME

●Women are primarily (almost exclusively) the cooks in both urban and rural areas of Tanzania. Most commonly cooked items such as ugali (maize meal), rice, vegetable and meat.

●Improved cook-stoves, instead of traditional biomass cook-stoves can ensure efficiency in the use of traditional fuels (World Energy, 2005). Improved cook-stove reduces smoke emission and health hazards especially to the cook. Benefits of improved stove include reduced cooking time, less smoke, saving wood-fuel, portability for portable stoves especially during rainy season.

OUTPUT

■Burning of biomass briquettes in improved cook-stoves prevents indoor air pollution and other health hazards thereby contributing to MDGs 4 and 5 (reduce child mortality and improve maternal health through reduction of indoor air/smoke related disease like acute respiratory infection affecting mainly newly born and young children and their mothers who are exposed to smoke during cooking and food preparation.

■Goal is been achieved of clean cooking and improved cook-stoves are to promote the enterprise-driven, large-scale adoption of clean cooking solutions throughout, with the goal to reduce poverty, health-related risks, and adverse environmental impacts associated with traditional cooking technologies and practices.

Additionally, tens of thousands of people in Tanzania are engage in transporting charcoal and commercial fuel wood from rural producers to industries, institutions (both rural and urban) and urban households, commercial businesses and industries. Tens of thousands of retailers in Dar-es-Salaam, Mwanza, Arusha, Tanga and other urban areas depend on the sale of charcoal and fuel-wood as the major, if not only, source of livelihoods, from rural areas to supply over 8 million households, tens of thousands of businesses and thousands of institutions with their primary energy needs.

And, without policy changes to promote and ensure the sustainable harvesting, production, transport, sales and utilisation of this renewable energy resource, Tanzanians will find, in less than twenty years, in less than a generation, that it is no longer cheap, reliable or easily available.

The project further contributes to climate security by reducing GHG emissions. The project also contributes to the overall sustainable development by creating job opportunities, reducing fuel wood consumption and therefore deforestation, reducing expenditures for fuel wood and time spent for collecting firewood and decreasing harmful Indoor-Air-Pollution.

CORE TECHNOGY:  Tanzania heavily reliance on solid biomass in Tanzania implies that most of the cooking technologies in use are biomass stoves. These include traditional biomass cook-stoves (traditional metallic charcoal stoves) and improved biomass cook-stoves (different varieties for both charcoal and fuel).

Charcoal producing countries in Africa rank Tanzania the 4th from the top. Figure 1 below shows the projection of charcoal in Tanzania.

Figure 1: Nationwide tree cutting for charcoal consumption as fuel in Tanzania (Sawe, 2012)

Burning Biomass Briquettes & Ceramic Cook-Stoves These agricultural wastes & forest residuals (Figure 2) are used to make biomass briquettes

Figure 2 shows: (a) Rice husk, (b) Pruning branches of wood, (c) Maize cobs, and (d) Forest burning causing wild fire. The materials which would have been dumped in open fields or burn them causing black carbon release and sometimes wild fires.

Marketing and operational channels that are currently is based in Dar es Salaam only. particularly, (1) Households  actually 5 million people who live in Dar es Salaam, (2) Businesses where they prepare fast food (like kiosks) for the people go buy food, and  (3) Schools where the students they go to buy food as well.

Pricing strategy of biomass briquettes is 50% less than a price of charcoal. Furthermore, we are getting more customers especially during the rainy seasons because the people in Dar es Salaam are getting difficult to get charcoal from other regions of Tanzania.

COMPETITION ADVANTAGE: The technology to invest in to making biomass briquettes from agriculture wastes & forest residuals.

Key machinery technology:

• CHAR-DUST: Char dust is obtained from carbonization kilns & char dust left over as waste when the vendors are selling the charcoal in Dar es Salaam
• COMBINATION-CRUSHER: Machine use to crush the charcoal dust to smaller parts ready to be taken to double-shaft-mixer
• DOUBLE-SHAFT-MIXER: Machine used to thoroughly mix: charcoal dust + binder + water ready to go to briquetting machine
• BRIQUETTE-MACHINE: Machine used to automatically produce biomass briquettes at a rate 4 tons/hour
• BRIQUETTES-DRYER: Machine used to dry the briquettes (blow hot air inside) and they come out to the other end dried and ready to be packed and sold to our clients  

(See the animation)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYgQPRSK3lc&feature=youtu.be

We currently have a small factory in Kibaha, Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) where we make biomass briquettes.  We lack the dryer to dry the briquettes, therefore, we dry manually and, intermittently.   We are faced the challenge  to dry manually during the rainy season which extends for about 6 months  per year that is why we need the dryer which will enable us to dry the briquettes for 12 months per year, that is, throughout the year.

Targeted is to establish factories each produces 25 tons/day of biomass briquettes. The machinery will be located mainly in the several regions that have bulk of resources of agricultural wastes & forest residues. There three regions: Dar es Salaam, Tanga and Morogoro.  We will purchase machinery equipment and license from China. Will be able to manufacture locally the equipment. This way, we can establish more micro-factories to satisfy the needs for cooking fuel in Dar-es-Salaam. This has been key element in addressing energy needs and deforestation problem we in Tanzania.

TRACTION BUSINESS: To date, we have factory in Kibaha in Dar es-Salaam where we are making biomass briquettes (12 tons/day) & manufacturing cook-stoves (3 cook-stoves per week), and we supply in Dar es Salaam every day. Therefore, we are looking forward to increase the amount biomass briquettes & cook-stoves we are providing today to meet the ever increasing demand of our products.

Contribution of the Project to the Community in Tanzania:  The project will contribute to sustainable development, and with potential benefit of large-scale dissemination.  Project contribution to sustainable development: includes social, economic, environmental and technological benefits.

Technological benefits with experience the benefits of the new technology getting transferred to their community.  This will trigger the growth of small establishments and entrepreneurial activities for catering to the peripheral needs such as machine shops for factory maintenance and the manufacturing of cook-stoves.

High acceptance level of this technology is expected because the villagers are already paying higher prices for charcoal.  Presently, each household spends about $ 0.6 per day on charcoal for cooking.  We envisage consumers to save 40% on fuel costs when burning briquettes in improved cook-stove

The above advantages will provide additional influence on the existing renewable policy of the Tanzanian government which has been encouraging companies and individuals to invest in small scale renewable energy technologies.

GOAL: Clean cooking and improved cook-stoves and to promote the enterprise-driven, large-scale adoption of clean cooking solutions throughout:  reduce poverty, health-related risks, and adverse environmental impacts.  

People with disabilities are among the women are among those in our communities that they use biomass briquettes as fuel for cooking. Similarly, they among our company (Space Engineering Company Limited) some will be employed to business to distribute briquettes in the channels/centers where vendors of charcoal and our briquettes are.

The project will generate income opportunities and jobs for women. Moreover, exposure to gender-based violence; example through fuel wood collection will decrease thanks to a reduction in fuel wood demand.

Ensuring a human-rights based approach that does no harm in development co-operation and humanitarian assistance is fundamental. Particular attention is needed for vulnerable groups, including women and children, and those most at risk of discrimination on the basis - example, disability, gender identity and race, ethnicity, age or religion

For example, community members employed for long-term maintenance work particularly more vulnerable populations (people living with disabilities) and those new to the workforce could be at particular risk of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment.

This can heighten vulnerability of marginalised and vulnerable groups (e.g. female-headed households, those working in the informal sector, people with disabilities and expose them to risks of harassment.

Tanzania including low-income women, children, and elderly people, are especially vulnerable and the project in Tanzania of most threatened and vulnerable area in the country. Without adaptation actions, climate change is likely to magnify the damaging effects of these hazards and to increase existing poverty conditions.

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BUSINESS MODEL

(1) We make biomass briquettes as fuel for cooking, and (2) Manufacture improved cook-stoves. We sold these items to our clients for cooking every day.

To solve is a problem about charcoal and in Tanzania: (1) Making biomass briquettes as fuel for cooking, (2) Manufacture and sell ceramic cook-stoves to our clients, (3) Mitigation of green-house-gas CO2 in atmosphere. Tanzania has about 15 million tons/year of agricultural waste (maize cobs & rice husk) and 1.8 million tons/year of forest residues (saw dust & branches of wood) which could be EASILY converted to briquettes by a mechanical ram-press. The briquettes are coming out the other of ram-press and are sold as fuel for cooking INSTEAD of charcoal which cause deforestation and biodiversity

TARGET MARKET

The target market in Dar es Salaam are divided into three categories: (1) Households  actually 5 million people who live in Dar es Salaam, (2) Businesses where they prepare fast food (like kiosks) for the people go buy food every day, and  (3) Schools where the students they go to buy foods.

The capital city of Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania, alone consumes about 750,000 tons/year of charcoal which leads deforestation of 250,000 hectares/year  are destroyed in Tanzania causing environmental degradation.

We are company in Tanzania whom: (1) Make biomass briquettes as fuel for cooking, and (2) Manufacture ceramics cook-stoves to our clients, and (3) Mitigating green-house-gas (CO2) in the atmosphere by reduced pressure on deforestation and biodiversity.

WE HAVE A FACILITY

We have factory in Kibaha near Dar es-Salaam where we: (1) Making biomass briquettes (12 tons/day), (2) Supply biomass briquettes to (households & businesses) = 13,860 every day, (3) Manufacture ceramic cook-stoves and we have sold = 6,250 ceramic cook-stoves as well. We manufacture = 3 ceramic cook-stoves per week.  We are well-positioned as leaders in briquettes in Tanzania.

Our company strength is "Waste-To-Energy" biomass technologies for sustainable development – green energy

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SELLING OUR PRODUCTS:

The number of people we serves every day = 13,850

We have factory in Kibaha near Dar es-Salaam where we:

(1) Making biomass briquettes (12 tons/day),

(2) Every day we supply biomass briquettes to households & businesses = 13,860, The business is still growing by having more customer. 

(3) Manufacture ceramic cook-stoves and we have sold = 6,250 ceramic cook-stoves as well.

We manufacture = 3 ceramic cook-stoves per week and sold them. 

We are well-positioned as leaders in briquettes in Tanzania.

The we make and sold every day = 12 tons/day biomass briquettes

On average we have sold $550 per day. All the net-profit (covering all expenses).

Net profit: $550 x 320 days/year = $ 176,000 per year

[1]The primary Barriers to Adoption of (ICS) in Tanzania

The lack of consumers’ ability or willingness to pay premiums on more efficient cook-stoves are being developed and due to absence of wide-spread awareness campaigns

• The availability of the right models of the ICS that are acceptable to the rural & urban households and cater to the unique cooking needs and preferences of rural population.

• The cost-revenue shortfall preventing the development of commercial enterprises to promote clean cooking solutions. The limited funding to support scale-up activities Lack of willingness or ability of consumers to pay premiums on more efficient cook stoves is due to a number of factors, including:

• Lack of awareness of financial and health benefits of ICS.

The grant support will address these barriers: (i) Creating consumer awareness about the benefits of ICS through above and below the line marketing, and (ii) Supporting capacity development for the supply chain Partner Organizations) for distribution of ICS, and (iii) Selecting the right cook-stove models that have passed both quality assurance test on performance and durability as well as consumer preference and acceptability tests. Households are expected to purchase the ICS at full price.

Expected positive impacts of the project are the reduction of the consumption of fuel-wood, financial expenditures as well as time spending on fuel-wood collection.

Summary: Approach will lead to the commercialization of the sector. The provided support is designed to encourage professionalised Improved Cook-Stoves (ICS) producers first to ramp-up production and their sales avenues in the distribution network to a commercial scale, and secondly for the producers to actively engage with the financial sector during the project, Technical assistance will be provided to the ICS producers for the development of persuasive business plans and financial proposals. Equally important is that the project will engage the financial sector stakeholders to help develop appropriate products and explore opportunities to bring-in non-grant instruments to finance investment in ICS sector growth (micro-credit, credit coops, local development and commercial banks).

[2]Barrier: Low awareness of the risks associated with traditional cooking practices and the multiple benefits of ICS, as well as their importance for family expenses, health and the environmental issues. The lack of awareness and ignorance about ICS is particularly pronounced in the rural areas, where education levels and access to market information tends to be lower, while established traditional practices play a more dominant role in guiding families’ behaviour and ultimately decision-making. For example, in the population in the urban centres of eight regions is well aware of the ICS on the markets due to radio, TV and public events. In contrast, the population in the south and the east of the country have not yet heard much about these products. The situation of people living in rural areas in all provinces is even worse

Contribution: Sustainable development expected positive impacts of the project are the reduction of the consumption of fuel-wood, financial expenditures as well as time spending on fuel wood collection. Moreover, users’ exposure to harmful smoke emissions will be reduced and burden and will be able to generate Fairtrade Carbon Credits under the project which can be sold on international markets. This will further enable the small-farmers cooperatives to improve the livelihood of their producers and communities by creating new jobs, setting up additional financial income streams and accessing new markets for their products.

Development and Beneficiaries: Energy generation from agricultural wastes adds new income opportunities for the rural population and diminishes the environmental impact produced by inappropriate disposal in open fires or dumps.  The most important direct beneficiaries of the project will be households, farmers, and village communities. Households benefit from the provision of cheaper and cleaner burning biomass briquettes homes and farmers benefit from selling agro-residual.  Villagers, particularly women will benefit from community development and capacity building.  Entrepreneurs working at local level will benefit from increased business opportunities such as manufacturing and selling briquettes and cook-stoves.

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[1] The ISO/International Workshop Agreement (IWA) Guidelines for evaluating Cook-stove Performance provides measurements and indicators of performance standards for cook-stoves, measuring their performance along four

[2] The PSI is an instrument of the IMF designed for countries that may not need, or want, IMF financial assistance, but still seek IMF advice, monitoring and endorsement of their policies.  

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Financial sustainability

TWO GRANTS WE WON

1. Recently in December 2018, the Space Engineering Company Limited won a grant worth about $100,000 from the government of United Republic of Tanzanian (Vice Present Office) to promote the renewable energy. We won this competition challenge to promote briquettes & cook-stoves in Tanzania. Shell Exploration & Production Tanzania provided the grants and was responsible for supervising the competition. The funds was facilitating to our company. 

WINNERS OF CHARCOAL COMPETITION

SHELL EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION TANZANIA LIMITED

1ST FLOOR, KILWA HOUSE, PLOT 390, TOURE DRIVE

P. O. BOX 105833, OYSTERBAY

DAR-ES-SALAAM, TANZANIA

2. During 2016 the contest, were held in Arusha, Tanzania and we were FOURTEEN winners whom we won a grant $145,000 in the competition which was held nationally in Tanzania. The competition was about Renewable Energy.

THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

RURAL ENERGY AGENCY (REA)

MAWASILINO TOWERS

SAM NIJOMA ROAD

P. BOX 7990

DAR-ES-SALAAM, TANZANIA