Reduce charcoal impactVol. 8 No.2 September 2009

Reduce charcoal impact

Cet Kana Primary School in Gulu received 1800 seedlings from Tree Talk. They now have a young but thriving woodlot and fruit trees! You can grow your own trees with the seeds included with this Tree Talk.

•Protect trees, forests • Stabilise weather/rains

Charcoal is taking a terrible toll on the environment.

But people who live in cities need it for cooking, and many rural people earn income from selling it. We need to think critically about charcoal. Two possible ways of going forward are:• using less charcoal • producing charcoal with

fewer wasted trees

People in cities need charcoal because it gives more energy for its small size. It is transported more easily and cheaply than firewood, which is large and bulky. In cities, people do not have access to trees: they need to buy charcoal that is produced in rural areas and trucked into towns.

Charcoaling is hurting our environment by reducing trees. Ugandan cities are growing very quickly; more and more people need charcoal. But we do not want to spoil the environment in rural areas because we in the towns need to

eat. Charcoal brings short-term income but soon the environment will work on us. In many districts, large woodlands have been greatly reduced because of charcoal production. These trees used to bring regular, plentiful rains, prevented soil erosion, and were homes for many different birds and animals. Without these woodlands, rains have become unpredictable. Crops are failing due to drought.

Charcoal production is not a solution to poverty. Charcoal prices are high but still the profit for the producer is low. Akena John Bosco (Left) makes charcoal from Omoro County, Kitgum. He says, "Trees are scarce since we are very many involved in making charcoal. If you do not have land, you must buy trees at a cost of 5000- 8000/= per tree, depending

on the size of the tree."

Akena sells one sack of charcoal at 9000/= - that means a profit of only 1000/= per sack! Akena says, "This work is tiresome but there is no other alternative." What would you do in his place?

On June 22, Tree Talk paraded through Adjumani with students and community leaders and planted 100 Mvule trees along the road to town. Thanks, Adjumani schools!

ABOVE: Combretum is a small tree with hard wood that makes very good charcoal. It also has many other uses. Its flowers produce good nectar for honey. Medicine from the roots treats worms, fever and dysentery. Its wood is useful for tools. Replant if you cut. Open the fruits to get the seed; if difficult, soak in cold water and then open. Sow immediately. It germinates easily.

Using traditional methods, charcoal pro-ducers in Nakasongola use two Combre-tum trees to make one sack of charcoal.

But if we used improved charcoal production methods, a single tree could produce one sack. That would decrease by half the dam-age done to the environment.

If every charcoal-producer followed the improved charcoaling

guidelines in this Tree Talk, and every charcoal-user cooked on an

energy-saving stove, Uganda would save 4,375,000 tons of wood a year.

That is equivalent to almost half the trees (42%) in Mabira Forest!

Tree Talk, September 20092

Many people are not practiced in charcoaling. It is only a part-

time occupation. Because of this, they may not know the best, safest way to make charcoal. Says Richard Kisakye, Academic Registrar at Nyabyeya Forestry College and energy specialist: “The way charcoal is being produced, there is so much waste: for every 10 kilograms of wood that are burned, you only get one kilogram of charcoal. At the rate that Uganda is cutting trees, I don’t think the forests will last even 10 years.”

BE CAREFUL! Making charcoal is difficult, and sometimes dangerous work. Okello Stephen, 15, from Omoro in Gulu, dropped out of school because of school fees. Now he is helping his aunt in piling logs to make charcoal.

He says, "Last week I got injured when I was felling down a tree. The tree sliced and hit my hand and now I cannot lift anything with my right hand.”

1. It is best to cut trees

from a man-made woodlot

that can be replanted. Do

not cut natural forests –

they bring rain, protect wa-

ter catchment and are home

to many birds and animals.

Natural forests take long to

grow back. Cut a tree trunk

30cm from the ground. Do

not cut lower: allow the

stump to grow again. Use a

saw to make a direct cut; an

axe cannot cut directly and

wastes wood.

2. Cut trees

into logs of

1-1.5 metres

in length.

Dry in a

well-cleared

area for 3-4

weeks. Dry

wood is

lighter to

carry and

yields more

charcoal.

3. For a “kasisira” kiln, lay thin pieces of wood

pointing towards the center. Lay more pieces

across to make a platform. Stack the largest

logs first, as closely as possible. Follow with

medium and then small logs. Fill remaining

spaces with smaller logs.

4. For a “bus” or “kinyankole”

kiln, lay thin logs crosswise into

a long, rectangular platform. Top

with large logs, filling the gaps

with smaller logs.

5. Cover the kiln with metal sheets, if you have them.

Otherwise, cover with grass and then with a layer of soil of at

least 20 cm. Make at least eight air inlets at the base of the

kiln. To light the kiln,

put burning charcoal

into the lighting hole

at the top of the kiln.

Let it burn for 1½ to

2 hours before sealing

the lighting hole. Build

a ditch or a barrier of

thorny branches around

the kiln to protect it

from cattle.

6. Monitor the kiln at all times.

If cracks or holes appear, fill with

soil. When the kiln falls in on it-

self, the wood has finished burn-

ing. Seal all cracks with soil.

Allow the charcoal to cool for five

days before harvesting. Use a

pitchfork

to har-

vest the

charcoal

without

picking

up soil.

Charcoal is made from trees. First, trees are cut, collected and gathered into a large heap. The wood is usually covered with a layer of dried grass, a layer of soil, and then it is lit. The grass and soil act like a barrier, prevent-ing air – and the oxygen (O2) in the air - from reaching the wood. This is different from firewood, which burns in the open air and

Wood and charcoal are not the

only fuels

A boy in Nakasongola helps his grandmother produce charcoal using a traditional kiln. The kiln must be supervised at all

times. If cracks are not filled with soil, heat can escape and you will get less charcoal.

Improve charcoaling

CHARCOAL PRODUCTION DOES NOT HAVE TO WASTE WOOD: Every year, Uganda cuts seven million tons of wood

to make charcoal: that is like cutting 40% of Nakasongola's woodland! If

all charcoal were made properly, following the above guidelines, we would

only need half as many trees to make the same amount of charcoal.

eventually turns to ash. When making charcoal, there is no oxygen and so the wood burns slowly through a process called carbonization; when the wood has finished burning, charcoal remains. Charcoal is carbonized wood. To pro-duce it more efficiently, follow the direc-tions below.

Mr. Abasi Kazibwe Musisi of Kampala is an award-win-

ning entrepreneur who makes briquettes from waste materi-als. He says, “You find heaps of G-nut husks just waiting to be burned. I compact these as well as sawdust, coffee

pulp and maize cobs into bri-quettes with a machine. They burn very cleanly and the heat

goes directly to the pot.”

These briquettes are good because they re-use waste

materials; do not need trees; burn for a long time; and are

less costly than charcoal. They need to burn in a special

Masisi stove, which is soon being finished. You can

contact Mr Musisi on 041-4-270887.

1-1.5 m

30 cm

Lighting hole

Air hole

Tree Talk, September 20093

The shea tree is far more valuable as a fruit-produc-

ing tree than as charcoal.

When cut and burnt, an average-sized shea tree will produce ten sacks of charcoal. At 10,000/= a sack, this will earn the charcoal producer 100,000/=. But this same tree can produce 60,000/= worth of nuts every year for 100 years. That is equivalent to 6 million/= per tree.

Called Yaa/Yao in Acholi and Imuru in Langi, shea trees give nutritious fruits that provide protein and minerals like calcium and potassium. They are a source of energy in the months before the rains when there is a lot of heavy planting work.

The kernels or nuts of the shea fruit are even more valuable. They contain an oil, which is used for cooking and smearing in northern Uganda. This oil can be processed and turned into a "butter".

Nyeko Corina of Loyoajonga village, Gulu, with a plate of shea nuts. She says: “I normally sell shea oil at 8000/= a litre. The price can even go beyond that when demand increases. My granddaughter of 10 years can now help me to process the oil. It takes me about 2 weeks to collect the fruits and convert it into oil.”

In Lira over 1600 women have organised themselves into an association called Rwot Ber (The Good Leader). In a good year they sell two sacks of shea nuts to a buyer from Kampala at 120,000/= a sack. This pays for school fees. They also keep two sacks for domestic use.

John Kuteesakwe, energy expert and project coordinator with the German Development Corporation (GTZ), says we all need to think about the consequences of using charcoal and to use it carefully.

"The charcoal consumer in Kampala is not only cooking a meal for eating," says Kuteesakwe. "By cooking with charcoal, they carry responsibility for environmental degradation and destruction of huge areas of forest. If he or she was not providing the market, the charcoal producer would not cut the trees."

Fruit of shea trees give long-term wealth

Save charcoal as you cook

Biological name 4Rs Lusoga Ateso Luganda Luo

Albizia coriaria Musisa Musita Etak Mugavu Latoligo

Combretum molle Murama Ndawa Ekworo Ndagi Okechu/oduk

Combretum collinum Mukora Nkotcha Ekuloin Mukora Okechu/odugu

Terminalia glauce-scens

-- -- -- Muyati Lalera

Albizia zygia Musebega Mulongo Ebatat Mulongo Bedo

Acacia sieberiama Mutyaza Mufuwanduzi Etirir Mweramenyo Achara

Acacia seyal -- -- Ekaramai Mugano Agagi

Acacia hockii Rugando Kasone Ekisim Musana Achiru/okeetu

In March, Kuteesakwe's project won an international prize for work in promoting energy saving stoves.

In the last five years, 500,000 improved stoves have helped households in Uganda. Do you have an improved stove?

In Europe and the US, shea butter is put in sweets. For example, shea butter is used as a cocoa butter improver in chocolate bars. It is also used in cosmetics.

Uganda has the potential to export up to 350,000 tonnes of shea butter a year. Currently a kilo is sold for $9.50 or about 18,000/=.

The shea tree grows natu-rally in eastern and northern Uganda. It takes 15 years for a shea tree to produce fruit, which are harvested from April through June, even in times of drought. Nuts can be stored until January when they can be sold for school fees.

Shea trees grow well with other crops like beans, cowpeas and millet.

Environment officers recommend the tree spe-cies in this table as suitable for charcoaling. Trees that produce good charcoal are usually slow growing: they are dense and slow-burning. Always leave enough trees standing so that the species can regenerate. You can also plant these tree species for charcoal. That is called

charcoal farming. Never make charcoal from species like mvule, mango or shea.

Soak beans for 4-5 hours before cooking

Eco-heroCook food with the lid on

Use a ceramic energy-saving stove

Above: pure shea butter sold as skin cream in Kampala. Right: The nuts being prepared for export. Photocredit: KFP Ltd

In many Acholi com-

munities it is forbidden to cut shea and you pay a fine of 50,000/= if

you do.

Government guidelines: which trees for charcoal?

Charcoal is sometimes called “black gold”

because it is so valuable: it allows us to cook food.

Here are six ideas to use less charcoal and make your charcoal last longer. (Most of these ideas also apply to firewood)

1. Store your sack of charcoal in a dry place, It takes a long time for wet charcoal to begin burning.

2. Use a fuel-efficient stove, like the ceramic sigiri. It lasts for many years and uses only half the charcoal of a metal sigiri! You will save money over time from buying less charcoal.

3. Split foods like cassava, potatoes and meat into smaller pieces. Soak

5. Put out the fire as soon as you have finished cooking.

6. Put a lid on your cooking pot to prevent heat from escaping.

beans for 4-5 hours: they will cook faster!

4. Make a plan for cooking. Do not light a stove until you have prepared your ingredients and are ready to begin cooking.

Tree Talk, September 20094

Your letters Write to PO Box 22366, Kampala. Every letter published wins a T-shirt.

raising trees & training in 2009

Thank you for sending us Tree Talk. As an agency whose man-date is to manage and conserve wildlife in the country,

Uganda Wildlife Authority applauds you for your contribution to restoring tree cover and hope that it will help relieve pressure on Protected Areas and provide habitat for wildlife. Sam Mwandha, UWA

People who trade in timber, charcoal and firewood should have permits. Forests where good trees have been cut should be protected so that young trees can

grow to the right size. Thembo H, 12, Bunyangule PS, Bundibugyo

Tree Talk helped us to plant trees in the school compound. But they dried because of no rain. That is why we accepted to plant more. I know that trees help in many ways. Aneno Scovia, Padibe PS, Kitgum

Muwafu (Canarium schweinfurthii) is another great Ugandan tree which delivers

multiple benefits. Growing to the massive height of 40 m, it is common in forests around Lake Victoria. Muwafu does not compete with crops and is good for reforestation. It produces a fruit, Empafu, that is cooked in banana leaves with salt and sells like hot cakes in Owino market for 500/= a package.

During the holidays, Semwanga Dan, an S6 vacist from Wobulenzi Target Community College, sells Empafu from Iganga and Jinja.

"I do not want to be idle and am trying to raise school fees. I am an orphan who has lost both parents, so life is hard. Sometimes I feel fear that my girlfriend may overlook me for selling empafu. But we have remained friends and I feel happy to earn a living." To grow Muwafu, pick the seeds from the ground, let the outer coat decompose, immerse in hot water and allow to soak for 24 hours. Then sow in pots.

Empafu fruit bring income

Tree seed for schools

QUIZ

Nakasongola has lost more than half of its

trees to charcoal.

About 24,000 bags of charcoal leave the district every week. Fields are becoming dry and bare. Uganda kob have disap-peared. Bees are fewer, reducing honey production and pollination of crops. Thorny Acacia trees are taking over. Termites are causing chaos, looking for water by chewing trees, cassava plants, millet and maize stems, and the poles of houses. The district is fighting back by promoting more efficient modern kilns and plans to plant 2000 ha of Combretum and Terminalia for charcoal harvesting.

In Gulu, charcoal production has exploded with the closure of the camps. Says Tree Talk's Patrick Nyeko: "When people went home, they saw

Districts act on charcoalthat trees had gained good girth so they started charcoal burning to fetch money in the short run."

The district banned export of charcoal to Juba in 2007 but many lorries of charcoal still leave Gulu for the south of Uganda. District

Forester Officer Abwola is working to prevent charcoal burning in conservation and water catchment areas.

Nyeko would like charcoal burners to get organised into groups: "Then it would be easy to train them on efficient charcoal

burning, replanting and sustainable harvesting so that valuable tree spe-cies do not become extinct."

Baale SC in Kayunga is also strug-gling with charcoal: 15 lorries leave loaded with bags every week.

Tree Talk is a project of Straight Talk Foundation 4 Acacia Ave, Kololo PO Box 22366, Kampala Tel. 0312-262030/1.

ABOVE:Tree Talk goes on air to mobilise communities;

Tree Talk worked with four prisons. INSET: Kitgum prison officers get tree training. Openzinzi prison farm's nursery produced 40,000 seedlings.

Tree Talk ran six large nurseries in the North and West Nile, raising almost 800,000 seedlings, most of them indigenous, for 300 schools.

RIGHT: pupils take delivery of seedlings in Yumbe. BELOW RIGHT: staff at the nursery in Yumbe, supported by NFA and the British High Commission.

ABOVE: a termites' mound in Nakasongola. LEFT: Nyeko with shea nuts in Gulu.

ABOVE: the Kitgum nursery at Paloga PS. It generated work for about 50 people.

a woman's group with seedlings in Adjumani.BOTTOM: A community group near Zoka Forest with mahoganies.

Tree Talk collected over 1000 kg of tree seed. RIGHT:Forester Edea dries mahogany seed. BELOW: Forester Sidonyi with helper.

This issue was funded under the WILD project, supported by USAID and led by Wildlife Conservation Society. Editor: K Manchester; Contributors: C Watson, P Nyeko, G Awekofua, J Mayanja, I Pike; Design: GB Mukasa; Reviewers: G Kiyingi, J Kuteesakwe

For schools in West Nile and Northern Uganda: Afzelia africana (Meli in Lugbara, Beyo or Baa in Luo, and Azza in Madi)

is a beautiful hardwood tree. It provides good timber and shade. Remove the orange "hat" from each black afzelia seed. Plant one seed in each pot or polyethylene bag and cover with a thin layer of soil. Keep the pots in the shade and water lightly every morning and eve-ning. Afzelia germinates after 7 days. Two months after germination, gradually decrease the shade.

After two weeks, transplant seedlings to the field. This is best done during rains; otherwise, be sure to water your seedlings every day.

For all other schools: Musizi is a fast-growing tree for timber and shade. Soak mu-sizi seed in cold water for 3 days, changing the water daily. Place two seeds in a pot, the way it is shown in the diagram. When the seeds germinate, transplant the weaker one to another pot. Musizi germinates within 4-14 weeks. Keep pots under shade and water twice a day for another 3-5 months, removing the shade gradually. Transplant to the field. Keep watering if there are no rains.All seed with this Tree Talk was collected by the National Tree Seed Center.

Use this Tree Talk to help your community make

charcoal production more efficient. Has your family ever burned charcoal for money? Tell your stories. Best letters win.