One of the most important aspects of science is its invaluable impact on community well being. After all, if we look at science from a utilitarian perspective, it is not worth the effort if it does not make our lives better in any meaningful way. But, fortunately, the ideology of science has proven to be one of the most effective tools to make our lives easier, and the world a better place. This is why it is heartwarming and even awe inducing to see how even teenagers like Tom Osborn are making exceptional contributions to their community.
GreenChar co-founder, Tom Osborn
Tom, a 17 year old entrepreneur form Awendo, Kenya, observed the increasing dependence of a majority (according to statistics, as much as 75% of the Kenyan population) on energy sources like charcoal, firewood and biomass for cooking fuels. Over 10 million homes use wood fuels like charcoal and firewood in everyday in Kenya alone. This dependence, unfortunately, has more pros than cons. Apart from the deforestation and depletion of natural resources which occurs due to the ever increasing demand for these cooking fuels, other problems also arise when charcoal and firewood are used. Although they provide a good calorific value (i.e the energy obtained in a fuel), they have a lot of disadvantages. Their combustion causes smoke, which in turn pollutes the air. Usage of charcoal and firewood also leads to inhalation of smoke, which can cause respiratory and breathing problems.
GreenChar co-founder, Ian Oluoch
Seeing the suffering it was causing, Tom came up with the idea for “clean charcoal briquettes”: compressed blocks of clean charcoal which burn more efficiently and emit no smoke or gaseous discharge. These clean charcoal briquettes were adapted from an MIT developed technology. He was awarded with a $3000 innovation grant in 2013, and since then, along with his friend Ian Oluoch, founded a company named GreenChar: a company which produces these clean charcoal briquettes from sugarcane waste for use in households and in industrial settings.
Makaa Poa is aimed at households which are dependent upon charcoal, firewood or biomass for their energy needs. It is made from sustainable sugar waste sourced from nearby sugar factories, which would otherwise have been left to rot or burned. According to the official GreenChar website, “Makaa Poa is designed to make the cooking experience cleaner and safer. It is nearly smokeless and therefore reduces the risk of respiratory tract infections by over 80% – a true win for households in rural and peri-urban Kenya.” According to MIT studies, “clean charcoal” like the one Greenchar produces results in 70% less smoke inhalation than charcoal, and up to 90% less than that due to firewood, making it the healthiest alternative.
Team GreenChar with the “charcoal briquettes”
Makaa Poa also helps families in rural and peri-urban Kenya to lower their carbon footprint and emission of polluting substances. 1 kg of Makaa Poa offsets 5 kgs of wood which would have been cut down to make charcoal, and prevents over 20 kg of carbon emission from being released into the atmosphere.
“We understood that [for the customer] the main proposition is price, not health.”, remarked Osborn in the Women Deliver conference in Copenhagen (where he won the Social Enterprise Challenge). The price of Makaa Poa is 40% less than that of firewood or charcoal, at $0.3 per kilo, compared to $0.5 per kilo for charcoal and firewood.
The company has an overall investment of $210,000, and has generated $40,000 in revenue, selling to 2 urban slums in Nairobi and pilot projects in rural areas southwest of Kenya. Since February 2015, Greenchar has sold approximately 130 tons of briquettes.
In the future, GreenChar is planning to introduce a stove that works even more efficiently with the clean charcoal briquettes, and expanding its distribution to more places in Kenya as well as East Africa.
Pictures: Various Agencies
Tags: Carbon emission Clean cooking Eco Friendly Firewood alternative GreenChar Kenya Smokeless cooking
