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Chitale Women Adopt Clean Energy

Briquettes are essential for environmental protection Briquettes are essential for environmental protection - pic by Steve Kalungwe

In a bid to preserve the environment and discourage people from engaging in charcoal burning business, an organization called Sustainable Innovations Centre is drilling women and the youths in Briquettes making using wastes.

S.I.C Research and Innovations lead, Selemaini Ngwira says the goal is to improve the livelihood of women and youths in areas where charcoal burning business is rampant.

Ngwira further said that it was a concern to note that most areas in the country are suffering from environmental hardships such as floods due to cutting down of trees.

"Our goal is to see that the forests are preserved so that we avoid these natural disasters which in a sense are manmade as we have contributed to them by cutting down trees", said Ngwira.

The S.I.C for this reason sees briquettes as an alternative source of cooking energy where women and the youths are being trained in this field.

As a way of taking the initiative to other districts, Joe Ching'ani intends to take the training to more zones and communities around Matchereza, Likudzi, Manjawira, Senzeni, Bahamian, Makwangwala (bordering Neno North) where deforestation has wreaked havoc to the environment.

"I intend to expand this innovation to other districts like Neno where people are depleting forests through charcoal burning and harvest of forest products illegally", said Ching'ani.

Ching'ani further said, the ministry of natural resources and climate change must take up the initiative in a bid to protect the nation from disasters caused by wanton cutting down of tress.

As a fruit, one year after being trained in Briquettes making, women in Chitale Zone in Ntcheu South have gone flat out producing ball like briquettes (mbamu) even in the absence of Pressing Machines which are not cheap to Procure.

Leader of the group Tiyanjane Tseka is upbeat about the initiative, saying this will go a long way in saving trees (for charcoal) thereby mitigating environment degradation.

"This new Innovation is quite simple and environmentally friendly since we are using wastes to make the briquettes and we appeal to people to take up this idea instead of burning charcoal", she said.

Amember of the group, Rachael Chimbabwe said her life has improved tremendously since she ventured into briquettes business.

Neno is one of the districts in the country which has lost its forests to charcoal trade.

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