SUSTAINABLE FUELWOOD IN ZAMBIA

To say that the fuelwood industry is sustainable in Zambia, we must first determine how much charcoal and firewood is being used yearly. For a broad calculation, this will be determined by how many trees were harvested in the previous year, 2022, for fuelwood in Zambia. Each district will need to calculate the amount of fuelwood used in 2022. It will be known in the future as the benchmark of fuelwood used in Zambia. This number will then become the allowable cut of timber harvested for fuelwood in each district. This amount will then need to be replaced through reforestation by the community. The species replanted will include those used in both firewood and charcoal harvesting. A figure that will make the environmentalists of the world happy by replacing each tree cut with 100 saplings. There is a lot of catching up to do in reforestation in Zambia. This is not just dropping a seed in the ground: this is planting out healthy saplings with a good survival rate.

If you have any questions I will be happy to answer them….africancommunityproject@gmail.com

Communities abutting forest lands are encouraged to form simple community forests as set out under the Forest Act of Zambia and take control of the surrounding forest lands.  There are already community forests set up across Zambia that can harvest charcoal as well as private lands and Traditional Leadership areas. This will include all fuelwood harvested for the community’s use and for sale. It includes firewood and charcoal, firewood used by brickmakers, tobacco growers, breweries, and other users. There will be a rate set across Zambia for each classification of fuelwood. The workers involved in fuelwood production will be paid a wage by the community forest. The finished product will be delivered by the workers to a designated depot in the area and the community forest will be paid for their products by the agency. The community forest workers will be educated in better harvesting and production methods as well as reforestation to achieve sustainability.   

No…..I am not talking about what trees make the best charcoal to cook nshima on. I am talking about where the tree was growing that was cut down to make the charcoal?  Was it located on: Traditional land? Government land? Community forest? Private land or land being cleared for agriculture? Or no man’s land? The time has come in Zambia to define land boundaries and record ownership. This will become important information as time goes on and the value of land is recognized in Zambia. And we cannot declare the charcoal industry sustainable until we establish ownership of the tree that produced the charcoal! Remember……the old lady living in the village with poor eyesight and weak legs owns that tree along with the unborn baby not just the person with the sharpest axe. The new look to the charcoal industry is on its way!  

In the early days of November 2023, I await the fate of my concept to make the charcoal industry sustainable a reality. So today I have chosen a topic that should have been addressed a long time ago. The simple bag of charcoal. Period. As you drive the rural and urban roads across Zambia you see the true state of the industry in the way charcoal is presented to the consumer. In its true ugly form. Grain bags stuffed to the overflow, with sticks and vines jammed into the bag holding the ice cream cone looking heads brimming to the overflow, displaying the good-looking product. And we cannot forget the used cement bag look. Such a poor effort to convince a watching world that one of Zambia’s biggest industries has control of itself. Let alone being sustainable. The look of the packaging of charcoal will be one of the first things addressed on the long road to making charcoal a thriving legitimate industry. The first step can be taken so easily…..when the used grain bag is full…….simply sew it shut. Remember full is full!

Just a brief update on the sustainable fuelwood industry in Zambia. Lots of behind-the-scenes movement. Plenty of data to be collected on the consumption of fuelwood and the movement of products. A well-thought-out plan for the education of the providers of the product and still more for the consumers is being created. Stay tuned. If you have any questions about the programme, please feel free to ask me at africancomunityproject@gmail.com

It is now just before the rainy season in Zambia and people are planning out their growing season. It always is a big gamble on what to grow. I hope you plan on planting tree saplings in areas that have no immediate agriculture cash crop value but will have positive affects on your family’s health and living standards. Maybe some shade trees, windbreaks, soil enrichers in poor soil areas, boundaries, and don’t forget health benefits. Or just the well-being and beauty trees provide to your farm or homestead.

Anyway. Make sure you plan your future around trees.

All my best in this growing season and you are all still on my mind.

Thank you all for the heartfelt messages I have just received. I will never really leave Zambia; you will always be on my mind. In 20 years, I have seen it all: the poor, the downtrodden, the rich, and the want to be rich.  I have no idea how many villages I have visited in every corner of the country. Seen funerals and births. I’ve listened to your politics and your politicians. Visited many District Forestry Offices and met many forestry officers. Felt their frustrations of wages never being paid on time, saw their bicycles with flat and worn-out tires, and inspected their unroadworthy motorbikes with no fuel. Sat and watched charcoal makers toil at their profession. A very hard life indeed. Listening to their woes and hardships, their dealings with corrupt forestry officials and police. Selling a commodity that is crucial to the everyday life of almost every Zambian family. So why not make this vital industry that is just as important as fuel and is job creative a priority?

The time had come to travel to Zambia and meet with the Government of Zambia which I did. In fact, I met with Collins Nzovu, The Honourable Minister of Green Economy and Environment.  Being a new Ministry and a very important portfolio in the Government and how Zambia will address climate change and job creation; the Minister has plenty of work cut out for himself.  I came away with a good feeling after my meeting with the Minister and staff. And because my concept of a sustainable fuelwood industry covers many cross-cutting issues and departments….it will take time! My trip was well worth the cost and effort, meeting vibrant new people and I look forward to positive things happening.

Things on the sustainable fuelwood concept are looking good