Focus Media (Kigali)
Sam Ruburica
5 May 2008
When you cook, you create garbage. Now an association in Nyakabanda has found a way to use garbage for cooking. "At first, it was a bit hard to convince people to pay us for collecting their garbage, but as soon as they saw that it kept the neighborhood clean, they easily agreed."
Beata Uwimpuhwe is the president of the Association pour la Conservation de l'Enviroment (Association for environmental conservation, ACEN), which in 2002 took the bold step to ask money from the residents of Nyakabanda and Kimisagara to collect their waste, something which was until then taken care of by the districts.
Yet ACEN does more than just keeping the neighborhood clean; it also contributes to the protection of the environment. Indeed, instead of the garbage being deposited at the dump, it is being transformed into cylindrical fuel blocks (briquettes) that are cheaper, and more environment-friendly, than charcoal.
The association, which has received support from UNDP and German Agro Action funds, started out as a women's association, but today it groups 90 women and 43 men. They collect garbage twice a week. "We charge between Frw 500 and 20,000 depending on the quantity of the garbage," Beata Uwimpuhwe says, adding that the money is used to pay the garbage collectors.
When the garbage arrives, it is sorted with decomposing garbage such as banana and potato peels being dried and other organic material used to make compost.
Non-recyclable waste is transported to Nyanza dumping site in Kicukiro. The dried garbage is mixed with water and put in a special machine that solidifies the mixture thus forming the briquette.
The fuel blocks are three times cheaper than charcoal, being sold at Frw 80 per kilo. "2 kilograms of briquette can cook food that would require charcoal worth Frw 500," the ACEN president says.
Keeping up with demand
However, briquettes require a special kind of stove, which was developed by the Butare-based research institute IRST.
"We have two types of briquette stoves: one is metallic and goes for Frw 5,000 and a more fuel-efficient model made of clay which costs Frw 15,000," Uwimpuhwe explains.
Among the clients of the association are schools, prisons and people from the neighborhood. However, the association's president recognizes that they need to increase their production capacity as the market is growing rapidly.
Currently the association has the capacity of producing 50 tons of briquettes per month, but Beata Uwimpuhwe points out that they will have to increase this in order to meet demand.
"We have been approached by Utexrwa to supply them with 12 tons of briquettes per day, and we are close to signing a contract," Uwimpuhwe says.
Getting sufficient raw materials should not be a problem, she thinks, because the association has close ties with Kabuye sugar factory which ensures enough supplies to service any order.
ACEN is faced with other challenges such as lack of funds to expand their project, capacity building especially the inability to fully process the garbage collected, lack of equipment and a truck for collecting the garbage.
Nevertheless, the association remains ambitious and wants to spread to other districts. "It will be helpful to the people as they would get cheap fuel as well as keeping their homes clean," Uwimpuhwe said.
And there are numerous other advantages. Briquettes have managed to change the lives of the association's members as it has been a reliable source of income.
According to Uwimpuhwe, association members currently earn between Frw 30,000 and Frw 50,000 per month.
Moreover, the fuel blocks do not only keep neighborhoods clean, they are also good for the environment. Being a viable alternative to charcoal, their use will result in a reduction in tree-cutting.
What is more, the smoke produced by the briquettes does not affect the environment either, Beata Uwimpuhwe explains. "We have received a certificate from IRST, which confirms that briquettes are not hazardous to the environment."
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