Barcoding is a magnificent way of keeping records of merchandise, especially in the fuelwood industry of Zambia. It is the system that you see at all the big stores in the urban areas of Zambia. A simple block of bars and numbers on a cardboard tag when read by a scanner can tell you where and when the fuelwood was harvested, and if the taxes and fees have been paid. Each on-site reader will record the history of the package of fuelwood and when downloaded into the agency’s computer it will be compiled into records and sent to the various government departments to monitor community forests allowable cuts to prevent overcutting. Only fuelwood with this barcode displayed will be allowed to be transported from the community forest depot to the Agency’s facilities where it will be packaged in various size bags or made into briquettes destined for sale or export. Each package of fuelwood will display a barcode containing its history and point of sale.
SUSTAINABLE FUELWOOD IN ZAMBIA 