The Farallones Institute Rural Center and CHP International, Inc. in collaboration with

The Peace Corps Energy Project/OPTC

Contract #282-1003

July 1982

Contributors:

Ed Karch

Michael Wilburn

Marsha D. F. Wilburn

Michael Boutette

Session 1: Sharing perceptions of the training program: An ice-breaker

1. Attachment 1-A: Coat of arms

Session 2: Assessing group resources

Session 3: Defining expectations of the training program

Session 4: Introduction to the carbonization process

1. Attachment 4A: Sensory analysis guidance sheet

2. Attachment 4B: The carbonization process

3. Attachment 4C: Sample comparison of charcoal and brands

Session 5: Assessing available wood resources

Session 6: Fire and food: The dynamics of traditional cooking

1. Attachment 6A: Traditional cooking discussion questions

2. Attachment 6B: Fundamental means of heat transfer

Session 7: Wood resource management

1. Attachment 7A: Fuelwood production in traditional farming systems

2. Attachment 7B: Why is it so difficult to grow fuelwood?

3. Attachment 7C: Definitions of major wood sources

Session 8: The problem of fuelwood scarcity

1. Attachment 8A: The other energy crisis: Firewood

2. Attachment 8B: Direct energy efficiency of charcoal production

3. Attachment 8C: How the more expensive fuel can be cheaper to use!

4. Attachment 8D: How the more expensive fuel can be cheaper to buy!

5. Attachment 8E: World charcoal use fact sheet

Session 9: Introduction to kiln construction

1. Attachment 9A: Common kiln types

2. Attachment 9B: Basic principles of kiln design

Session 10: Kiln design

Session 11: Kiln construction

Session 12: Nightwatch: Monitoring and extraction

Session 13: Review and re-design of kilns

Session 14: Construction and testing of second kiln

Session 15: Introduction to presentations

Session 16: Kiln application and innovation

1. Attachment 16A: Design situations

2. Attachment 16B: Realities of making charcoal

Session 17: Presentations of kilns

Session 18: Briquetting: A problem-solving activity

1. Attachment 18A: Simple techniques for basic bio-fuels

2. Attachment 18B: Briquetting as a cottage industry: A case study

3. Attachment 18C: Bamako briquettes

4. Attachment 18D: Binders for charcoal briquettes

Session 19: Evaluating charcoal yields

1. Attachment 19A: Elementary calculation of moisture content

2. Attachment 19B: Energy potential of raw wood

3. Attachment 19C: Charcoal yield worksheet

Session 20: Program evaluation

This training manual represents one component of a pilot training program in Charcoal Production undertaken by the Farallones Institute and CHP International, Inc. It has been completed in accordance with the terms of Peace Corps Contract #282-1003.

We believe that our involvement has produced a valuable and adaptable learning tool. However, the manual must continue to be tested, evaluated and modified in order to reflect changing needs and circumstances. It is our hope that you will contribute to that process, and that you will help make the manual more appropriate and useful during future training programs.

If you have observations or suggestions about the contents, methods or approach included in the manual, please contact the authors at the Farallones Institute or CHP International, Inc.

There have been many valuable sources of support during the development of this manual. It is only with the help of many people that we have been able to document the various tools and techniques that we have chosen to use in training people to go gently and lightly into the lives of others.

We are grateful to the following individuals for their contributions the development of this manual:

Ada Jo Mann

Howard Raik

Ilios Aditya

Kevin Stewart

Leanne Clement

Andrew Atkeison

Although we cannot mention them all by name, we also thank the many kind people who have contributed by giving us permission to use materials they have developed.

Special thanks are extended to the members of the Farallones community for their continued support, endurance and patience during the evolution of this project.

Finally, perhaps our most important acknowledgment should go to the Peace Corps trainees who have come to learn and, in turn, to teach. It is with them that we have shared our dreams and values. We hope that the tools and techniques they have chosen will serve the world kindly and well.

Basic to the purpose of this training manual is the belief that the process of community development begins when people take an active role in their own education and continues as they identify not only their needs but also the resources, abilities and methods that will help them make decisions and address their problems in ways that are both sustainable and locally appropriate. This belief reaffirms what most of the world's villagers already know inherently: that culture, social systems, politics, religion, economics, and ecology are all threads in the same fabric of community life; and that technology exists only as a tool, a loom upon which all other threads are woven.

An important focus of this training program is the recognition that technical expertise is significant and useful only when it is applied in balance with other abilities. It is of little value for a person to be technically competent without the ability to work cooperatively with others and motivate them toward a more self-reliant and healthy life. For this reason, it is essential that Peace Corps Volunteers develop a variety of complementary skills, knowledge and attitudes that will serve to weave together the many threads of community development.

The training program outlined in this manual emphasizes the parallels which exist between training and Peace Corps service. Throughout the program, participants are encouraged to take a full and active role in their own education and to make decisions that will affect them and the people with whom they work and live. They are urged to cooperate with others, to identify and use the talents and resources that are available, and to practice skills that help motivate people, instill within them a sense of self-confidence, and involve them in the process of their own education.

The training program offers skills training in all stages of the development of technologies related to small-scale charcoal production, including the design, construction, operation, maintenance, repair, and evaluation of prototype kilns. The kiln designs are selected to be as consistent as possible with the realities of rural areas in developing countries.

The program is divided into twenty sessions which occur over a six-day period. Each session consists of a series of activities designed to meet specific training objectives. The objectives of each session are inter-related and linked through association with a number of fundamental themes. These themes serve to guide and shape the development of the skills and qualities necessary during Peace Corps service. Together, the themes illustrate the connection and interdependence between technology and other aspects of community development. The program themes are:

* Development and Transfer of Technical Competence

* Principles and Techniques of Non-Formal Education and Adult Learning

* Methods and Approaches to Problem-Solving

* Development Issues

* Cross-Cultural Perspectives

* The Process of Assessment and Evaluation

The Manual is designed to be responsive to a variety of training situations. Modification and adaptation of the materials is encouraged. However, it is essential to the effectiveness of the training to maintain the integrated nature of the sessions by providing an adequate balance of emphasis among the various themes. This will enable participants to build upon and apply new knowledge in a way that is ordered and meaningful within the context of community development.

The following guidelines have been developed as an aid in transforming this manual into an effective, dynamic training program:

There are many steps that need to occur before the training actually begins. These include defining the scope and approach of the training, identifying staff requirements, locating and establishing a site, and gathering necessary resources and materials.

* Defining the scope and approach of the training:

It is important to carefully read through the entire manual in order to develop an understanding of the overall design and approach of the training program. Sessions are designed to accommodate a maximum of twenty participants. If there are significantly more than twenty participants, some modification of the design of session activities will be necessary.

* Identifying staff and trainers:

The specific number of staff should depend on the particular training situation. As a minimal requirement, there should be at least one primary trainer and one assistant for each twelve participants. The primary trainer should have considerable practical and theoretical experience in charcoal production in developing countries and should be experienced and comfortable with the principles of non-formal education, adult learning, and integrated training. The assistant trainer should be a native of the country in which the training is held and should be experienced in the practical aspects of small-scale charcoal production.

* Locating and establishing a site:

It is best to choose a site that is conducive to experiential learning. It should include adequate room for people to build five to ten miniature kilns, work in small groups, and, if possible, be outdoors during much of the program. There should be a classroom or indoor meeting facilities at the site. It is useful for the training to be held in or near a forest area where local charcoal makers are working.

* Gathering necessary resources and materials:

For the most part, materials and resources will vary with each training situation. Each session includes a recommended list of materials. Be certain that there are enough materials, tools, and other supplies available before the program begins. If some of the suggested items are not available, use ingenuity to find comparable substitutes.;

Included here is a list of some considerations that are important to remember in carrying out the program.

* Think small. The miniaturization of kilos is essential to a six-day training program:

The entire process of carbonization must be reduced to a miniature scale in order to bring the process to within the scope of a six-day program. Through miniaturization, all the concepts and principles of carbonization can be demonstrated and practiced using a variety of kiln designs. In order for miniaturization to be successful, it is important to reduce the size of all components and materials proportionately. As an example, a full-size traditional kiln measuring 1 meter x 1 meter x 2 meters using wood that is 1 meter long and 20 cm. in diameter would be reduced to a model kiln, 10 cm. x 10 cm. x 20 cm. Wood used in the kilns should be approximately 2 cm. in diameter and 10 cm. in length. Construction and maintenance of miniatures follow exactly the same procedures as with full-scale kilns. Metal kilns such as the Mark V can be constructed from 20 liter buckets or cans. Using the miniaturization technique, carbonization time for each kiln is reduced to 8 to 10 hours.

* Warning! Charcoal production is a destructive process:

Although it is explicitly brought out in several sessions, the potential ecological impact of charcoal production should be continually reinforced throughout the training. In view of the growing world fuelwood scarcity, and considering that the conversion of wood to charcoal results in 50-80% gross energy loss, charcoal production can, in certain situations, be detrimental to the long-term interests and needs of people everywhere. Stress a general rule for volunteers, that if charcoal is already being made in an area, then working to improve yields can be appropriate.

If wood is in excess and is rotting or being burned, charcoal can be appropriate. But if charcoal is not being used and wood is being burned on open fires, then working to introduce fuel-efficient wood-burning stoves is more appropriate.

* Flexibility and patience are two key requirements for charcoal making:

The participants should be advised of the likelihood of spending lunchtime, suppertime, and late-night hours tending their smoldering kilns. The process of carbonization does not lend itself well to a structured, specified block of time. The type, age, and moisture content of available wood, weather conditions, and kiln design are all variables that can affect completion time.

* The experiential learning cycle is an essential part of training:

It is important that people have the opportunity to learn, examine, generalize about and apply new knowledge. Try to follow the experiential learning loop as often as possible, and encourage the participants to be aware of the process.

* Small groups often make learning easier and more lasting:

It is helpful to limit the size of groups to three, four or five people. Groups may be formed on the basis of regional or country assignments, skill levels, individual preference, or other criteria established by the staff and participants.

* A variety of educational techniques is most effective:

Experiment with role-plays, skits, panel discussions, brainstorming and other non-conventional methods. Encourage people to use their creativity, and to examine which methods have the potential to be useful in community work. As you facilitate sessions, involve people and try to use techniques that others can learn. Remember that as you teach, you will learn. Share your knowledge and motivate others to do the same.

* As the program continues, participants become more responsible for the design and implementation of sessions:

It is a good idea to include people as facilitators in selected activities and sessions. As the participants develop skills and self-confidence, they take an increased responsibility for their own education. Urge people to take an active role in facilitating, planning and evaluating a variety of learning experiences.

* Scheduled breaks between sessions are essential:

Although 10-15 minutes is suggested, more time may be needed, depending on the training circumstances.

One of the keys to the success of the training program lies in thoroughly understanding and effectively using the manual. Included below are some guidelines and explanations designed to help in using the manual.

* The Program Calendar indicates the overall design of the program and recommended sequence of sessions. Use it as a reference in developing a specific schedule which meets the needs of the particular training situation.

* Sessions follow a consistent format. (See the "Sample Session Format" on Page vi, for a detailed description.) Be certain to read sessions thoroughly. There are often several purposes to each session. For example, the activities may be designed to meet a technical objective, and at the same time, to provide participants with practice in group problem-solving or communication skills. It is important to understand the multi-tiered design of each session before presenting it.

* Attachments follow each session and are usually intended for distribution to the participants. Each attachment is letter-coded as to the session with which it is associated. It is important to make copies of attachments in advance so that they can be distributed during the session.

* The Bibliography includes the reference material, texts, and suggested resources used in developing this program. It can be copied and distributed to participants as the basis for further research in charcoal production.

Each Session is numbered sequentially and coded by day.

Session Title indicates subject area presented.

Total Time gives approximate time needed to carry out the session.

Objectives tell what is expected of participants and what the session should accomplish.

Resources include all attachments and other suggested references.

Materials refers to suggested supplies and tools needed for the session

Procedures consist of steps to be followed in order to meet objectives. Each step is given an approximate time.

Trainer Notes

Step 1. (5 minutes)

Distribute copies of Attachment 1-A, "Coat of Arms" and explain the exercise.

Step 2. (15 minutes)

Referring to the list in the Trainer Notes below, read each question in order, allowing time for people to draw their symbol before moving to the next question.

Step 3. ( 5 minutes)

After everyone has finished drawing his/her coat of arms, share your coat of arms by explaining the meaning of each of your four drawings.

Step 4. (30-45 minutes)

Have each participant explain the meaning of his/her coat of arms.

Step 5. (5 minutes)

After all of the drawings have been presented, facilitate a brief discussion of some of the similarities and differences which seem to exist in the group.

Procedures:

Step 1. (5 minutes)

Review the objectives and procedures for the session.

Step 2. (5 minutes)

Ask the participants to briefly discuss the value of a group resource assessment.

Step 3 (10 minutes)

Have the group brainstorm a list of interview questions which could help assess the participants' skills, knowledge and experience.

Step 4. (5 minutes)

Post and explain the interview format.

Step 5. (60 minutes)

Have the participants carry out the interview procedure.

Step 6. (5 minutes)

Reconvene the group and facilitate a short discussion of the participants' overall impressions of the resources that exist within the group.

Procedures:

Step 1. (5 minutes)

Briefly outline the session's objectives and activities.

Step 2. (20 minutes)

Distribute copies of the three resources. Have the participants read them carefully, then ask for questions, clarifications, or discussion.

Step 3. (15 minutes)

Have the participants form small groups and discuss their expectations of the program. Ask each group to list on newsprint and post their three most important expectations.

* If the training group is small, you may wish to remain together and make a master list of participants' expectations.

Step 4. (25 minutes)

Reconvene the large group and review each expectation for clarity, understanding, and feasibility.

Step 5. (10 minutes)

Conclude the session by facilitating a discussion centered around the following questions:

* Were any of your expectations changed by this activity?

* Is there anything that you have heard about the training program that has not been discussed?

* Do you think the program will meet your needs?

Procedures:

Step 1. (5 minutes)

Explain the session objectives and briefly outline the procedures.

Step 2. (10 minutes)

Briefly explain fire safety procedures on and around the kiln site.

Step 3. (10 minutes)

Distribute Attachment 4-A, "Sensory Analysis Guidance Sheet," and ask participants to complete Section A.

Step 4. (10 minutes)

Have participants share and discuss their observations.

Step 5. (10 minutes)

Ask participants to begin to examine the sample miniature kiln by completing Section B of the "Sensory Analysis Guidance Sheet."

Step 6. (10 minutes)

Have participants share and discuss their observations.

Step 7. (15 minutes)

Ask participants to carefully and slowly disassemble the kiln and record their observations in Section C of the "Sensory Analysis Guidance Sheet."

Step 8. (15 minutes)

Have participants share and discuss their observations.

Step 9. (10 minutes)

Distribute and explain Attachment 4-B, "The Carbonization Process."

Step 10. (5 minutes)

Distribute samples of different types of charcoal and brands to each participant and ask them to examine and compare them using their sensory perceptions.

Step 11. (15 minutes)

Distribute Attachment 4-C, "Sample Comparison of Charcoal and Brands" and have participants discuss their observations.

Step 12. (5 minutes)

Conclude the session by reviewing the objectives and asking participants to summarize ways in which the senses play a role in charcoal making.

Procedures:

Step 1. (5 minutes)

Explain the session objectives and briefly review the procedures.

Step 2. (20 minutes)

Invite the participants on a tour of the forest area surrounding the kiln construction site along a pre-established trail and begin identifying local tree species.

Step 3. (10 minutes)

Explain the guidelines and procedures for the wood gathering activity.

Step 4. (10 minutes)

Explain the specific quantities, varieties, and types of wood that should be gathered and ask participants to determine the most effective method of collecting it in the time available.

Step 5. (20 minutes)

Distribute machetes, saws, and pruning shears to each group, and have them proceed with the wood gathering.

Step 6. (15 minutes)

When all the wood is gathered, have the groups begin to cut it into the proper lengths.

Step 7. (15 minutes)

Have a representative from each group explain the type of wood with which they are working and discuss its potential for use in charcoal making.

Trainer Notes

Step 8. (20 minutes)

Have the participants complete their wood cutting activity.

Step 9. (5 minutes)

Conclude by briefly reviewing the session and explaining that fuelwood use and management will be discussed in more detail in Session 7, "Wood Resource Management" on Day 2.

* An option to the meal preparation is to have the participants prepare a hot beverage such as tea or coffee using the open fire and charcoal cooker.

Step 1. (5 minutes)

Present the objectives and briefly outline the session procedures.

Step 2. (5 minutes)

Distribute and explain Attachment 6-A, "Traditional Cooking Discussion Questions."

Step 3. (15 minutes)

Have the participants form two groups and prepare two types of traditional cooking fires.

Step 4. (10 minutes)

Reconvene the groups and explain the procedures for preparing the meal.

Step 5. (30 minutes)

Have the participants form their work groups and prepare the meal.

Step 6. (20 minutes)

Have supper.

Step 7. (15 minutes)

Reconvene the groups. Distribute Attachment 6-B, "Fundamental Means of Heat Transfer" and discuss the three types of heat transfer.

Step 8. (15 minutes) Have the participants compare the charcoal cooker with the open fire in terms of efficiency and ease of preparation.

Step 9. (5 minutes)

Conclude the session by explaining that the complexities involved in determining the relative efficiency of charcoal and firewood will be discussed in more detail in Session 8, "The Problem of Fuelwood Scarcity."

What are the major design features of your fire (or charcoal cooker (i.e., draft system, smoke control, baffles, flues, chimneys, construction material, etc.)?

- What problems did you encounter in starting the fire?

- How long did it take for your fire to heat up?

- Was there much smoke?

- How often did you need to add fuel?

- Did the fire stay lit?

- Was there much heat loss?

- Did the pots fit well over the fire?

- Once heated, did the dishes hold their heat?

- Was there much smoke?

- Was your fuel source easy to handle?

- Was there much work involved in preparing the fuel for use?

- How long did your fire hold its heat after the meal was prepared?

- How much fuel did you use?

Procedures:

Step 1. (5 minutes)

Explain the objectives and briefly outline the session procedures.

Step 2. (15 minutes)

Post the chart outline and have the participants brainstorm a list of possible wood sources for use in making charcoal.

Step 3. (30 minutes)

Distribute Attachment 7-A, "Fuelwood Production in Traditional Farming Systems," Attachment 7-B, "Why is it so Difficult to Grow Fuelwood?", and Attachment 7 - C, "Definitions of Major Wood Sources" and allow time for reading.

Step 4. (20 minutes)

Ask the participants to identify and discuss some of the major difficulties involved in the management of each of the wood sources listed.

Step 5. (15 minutes)

Ask participants to identify and discuss the types of charcoal which could be produced from each of the sources listed.

Step 6. (15 minutes)

For each type of charcoal listed, have participants determine whether it would be best for home or industrial use.

Step 7. (20 minutes)

Using the completed chart as a reference, ask participants to give specific examples of how wood sources available at their work sites may be utilized in making charcoal.

B. Ben Salem and Tran van Nao

B. Ben Salem and Tran van Nao are members of the FAO Forestry Department. This article is taken from a paper they prepared for the United Nations Conference on New and Renewable Sources of Energy, Nairobi; August, 1981.

The history of fuelwood in the developing world illustrates the dependence of rural communities on forests and trees. Over time, there has been a build-up of fuelwood shortages, with new problems continually arising for rural people in meeting their daily fuelwood requirements. At the same time, environments, under conditions of scarcity, have deteriorated. Should these trends continue, in certain parts of the world the very survival of populations will be in jeopardy.

The reasons for the existence of this situation are well documented. Growing population pressure has usually been recognized as the most important single factor. But whatever the relationship between the trend in human population and increasing fuelwood shortages and environmental deterioration, it must be noted that the relationships among rural forestry, traditional farming activity and the role and potential of rural forestry have for a long time been neglected or ignored. Not only could forestry provide sufficient fuel and other goods and services essential to rural populations, but it could also contribute to stabilizing the foundations of food production systems and to stopping or reversing the impoverishment of the rural environment 35 a whole.

Across the world there are fuelwood shortages in precisely those areas that are under the most agricultural pressure. These include all the arid and semi-arid regions under tropical, subtropical and Mediterranean climates, as well as some wetter zones with high population density. The most important features of these areas are the vulnerability of the wood resources and the risk involved in exploiting them because of soil fragility and climatic fluctuations. For both economic and social reasons, the only available energy source for the rural, and part of the urban, populations is organic material, especially wood and charcoal.

Traditional farming systems have often succeeded in integrating activities and in providing a reliable and sustained supply of wood for local needs. A brief description of some of the traditional farming systems illustrates the potential efficiency of rural forestry in a wide range of environments, ranging from the humid to the arid regions.

Throughout Southesast Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Viet Nam, Thailand), on fertile lowlands with high rainfall, traditional home gardens are of fundamental importance in feeding whole populations. In this system, the multi-layered vegetation of the tropics is formed of trees useful to man in providing year-round fruit, food, fodder and fuelwood.

Fuelwood is obtained from pruning, from bamboo and Sesbania wood, and from coconut leaves and shells. For a family of five persons, fuelwood requirements can be met by six coconut palms more than five years old. The traditional home gardens have helped to maintain soil fertility and to provide a reliable source of fuelwood. It has been reported that in East Java, 63 percent of all fuelwood was obtained from farmyards; and that in centeral Java, 49 to 81 percent of all fuelwood came from home gardens. The production in one watershed in central Java was estimated at between 7 and 9 m3/ha/year.

In Southeast Asia, in areas with an annual rainfall varying from 1,500 to 2,000 mm over five to six months, the Combretum-rice system is common. Farming activities consist mainly of rice cropping, which is done in the rainy season, but trees have always been planted in conjunction with rice production. Rice fields are demarcated in the form of squares of 1 hectare each by small dikes which are planted with two rows of Combretum quadrangular. Sometimes Calophyllum insophyllum is planted on large dikes to produce seeds from which oil is extracted and used for lighting. Combretum is managed under a coppice system with a rotation of five to six years. This means that each year farmers cut between one fifth and one sixth of the total length of their dikes. Fuelwood production from the first cutting is estimated at between 0.6 and 1.0 m3 per 400 linear metres per year. In the second and third rotations, this production may double.

These are adaptations of the shifting cultivation which occurs extensively in Africa, Asia and Latin America among subsistence farmers to reconstitute soil fertility and to supply rural people with fuelwood, fodder and minor forest products. A number of bush-fallow systems are of particular interest.

The gum arabic tree-fallow system has long been used in regenerating soil fertility over large areas, particularly in Kordofan and Dar fur provinces and parts of the Blue Nile and Kanala provinces in the Sudan. In this system, crops are grown and gum is produced in a well-defined rotation.

In Kurdistan and in the Zagros mountains of Iran, the local people use a system which involves the exploitation of natural scrub and bush for fuel. After exploitation, the land is plowed and cultivated with barley. Then, after only one crop is harvested, it is left to fallow for three to five years to allow the natural vegetation to re-establish itself. Total fuelwood production from the vegetated part may be estimated at 15 to 25 m3 for the fallow period of about five years.

In southern Iran, farmers practicing irrigated agriculture deliberately plant crops of Tamarix spp. around their fields to protect vegetable crops. When the land is abandoned after the well water becomes salty, they plant tamarisk trees to reduce soil salinity before moving to another piece of land. This, in addition to fuelwood, produces sticks for their vegetable crops. After three to four years, the trees are dug up and both roots and aerial parts are used for fuelwood. On the basis of 200 trees/ha. between 4.7 and 6.5 m3 of fuelwood could be collected after four years, in addition to between 0.8 and 1.2 m3 of roots.

This system has been used over a considerable area in semiarid ecosystems where soil fertility and moisture availability are limiting factors to food crops. Dwellers in these zones encourage the regeneration and growing of the trees to maintain soil fertility and to produce fodder and fuelwood.

Use of shade trees for industrial crops (coffee, cacao, pepper and tea) is well documented. In Sri Lanka, Clyricida spp. provide live support stakes for pepper vines or shade trees for tea plantations. An appropriate pruning operation can yield a limited amount of fuelwood each year. Although this yield may be small on a hectare basis, the potential contribution is large in view of the total area devoted to combination tea and pepper plantations in the tropics.

Trees planted in shelterbelts and windbreaks to improve local microclimates and to enhance the quantity and quality of crop yields are used in the agriculture of many countries as environmentally effective hedges. Apart from its effect on crop production, the system also provides cash crops and a substantial amount of fuelwood.

Other examples of rural forestry could also be cited. All show a variety of forestry practices and successful adaptations to meet fuelwood requirements. There are, however, a number of features which distinguish them from classical plantation forestry. First, fuelwood products in farming communities are from a variety of ligneous material and come from a wide range of woody species. Farmers will often plant not one but several species, often multipurpose species, to cover a variety of specific economic and ecological needs. Another important characteristic in fuelwood production is the selection and planting of only those species that provide food, fodder or income directly, or assist in the production and sustenance of these items by maintaining and improving soil fertility. In the subsistence economies, fuelwood was often regarded in the past as a by-product of the efforts to produce enough food for the family.

A third feature of farming communities is their relatively low consumption of fuelwood. Subsistence farmers have traditionally kept their fuelwood requirements in harmony with their actual needs. The practices described above suggest that under such conditions, where land is not scarce and where peasant communities are able to produce their own food and to integrate trees into their land-use systems, immediate and long-term requirements for fuelwood can be ensured. For a number of decades, however, this system has been under increasing pressure from a number of separate and related causes originating not so much in technical factors as in the land-use system itself. Early attempts to improve subsistence agricultural systems emphasized annual cash crops. The extensive cultivation required by such crops reduced the tree cover and exhausted soil fertility. Trees no longer improved soil fertility through nutrient recycling and humus supply, so commercial fertilizers had to be used. Although they were partly successful, they increased farmer dependence. Another factor was the intensification of livestock grazing without due regard to fodder production, which led to greater pressure on available woody resources and to the shrinkage of woody grazing grounds.

With the advance of large rural settlements and the expansion of cities, fuelwood, which used to be a free commodity, entered the market and was traded not only for cooking and heating purposes but also for a variety of artisanal and industrial uses such as brick and lime making, tanning, ceramics and pottery, brewing and food additives. This resulted in a rapid decline of fuelwood resources. Peasant communities found themselves with rising shortages which forced them to search farther and farther afield in order to meet their needs.

The previous discussion strongly implies that rural forestry is the most natural solution to the problem of fuel in the rural areas, and the' trees and forest vegetation can be integrated in the traditional land-use system in a variety of ways. Finally, it clearly demonstrates that such integration is not mere coincidence but the result of well-thought-out systems designed to improve subsistence food production and to control land degradation.

These conclusions have important policy implications in relation to fuelwood production. They suggest a need to re-examine past plantation models, which have been based essentially on intervention in the forest domain and in the so-called wastelands. A concept of forestry is required which will spread across the whole spectrum of land management. The agricultural sector, for instance, ought to include forest trees. Here, their role would be to support agricultural production, diversify income and control land degradation.

Between 2 and 5 percent of agricultural land can be opened up for tree plantations according to various tree-planting patterns without any loss to agricultural production. This could have a great impact on the basic problems of food and land amelioration while providing the necessary fuelwood in the rural sector.

The implementation of this policy will require a program to improve and/or introduce traditional forestry in agricultural communities. It will require the development of a number of technical solutions associated with the integration of tree growing and farming. It will also require that forestry that is now largely production-oriented must become oriented as well to agricultural improvement. Fuelwood and fodder production would then become the two most important products. This would require a much more intimate knowledge of the tree species best adapted to the region and the people, but it would not eliminate the need for developing, through genetic selection, fast-growing strains of local and exotic species which are relatively unaffected by local pests, diseases and biotic factors. Nor would it eliminate the need for developing silvicultural systems adapted to different levels of rural production systems.

Before we can expect any success in the implementation of such a program, the previous socio-economic framework, which has brought about the over-exploitation of trees on agricultural lands, will need to be fully understood. What will readily work in one region, for example, will not work in others. In some areas, trees and shrubs could be introduced without upsetting the local economy because of large holdings or because of the existence of intensive agriculture. In other areas, this would not be possible because land holdings are too small and people are dependent on them for food. In uplands with small farming communities, trees could not be introduced without assistance to those now dependent on plant cover for part, if not all, of their livelihood.

If traditional forestry practices are to become an integral part of rural planning, farmers will have to be the object of special information campaigns and will have to be trained in tree planting and management. This can be done either individually or collectively. First of all, the political authorities will have to recognize that this integration of forestry and agriculture is becoming more urgent all the time because of the combination of increasing population and shortage of wood for man's most basic needs, especially fuel.

Matching the trees to the appropriate systems of agriculture - some examples

Raymond Noronha

Raymond Noronha is a sociologist on the staff of the World Bank.

For a large part of the world's population, wood is the main source of energy for cooking, heating and all kinds of local manufacturing. But the forests that produce this wood are under increasingly heavy pressure. This gives impetus to the necessity of looking to village woodlots as one of the most important means of dealing with the wood-energy crisis.

Two basic assumptions should be made: first, that the techniques of establishing woodlots are well known; second, that trees serve a variety of human needs and are one of the cheapest sources of energy. If there is no dispute about these assumptions, why is it that village woodlots are not springing up all over the countryside in the developing countries where they are so badly needed? The reasons are not technological, but social and political.

Examples of both successful and unsuccessful woodlot programs are few, and relatively recent: China, the Republic of Korea, India (Gujaret), Tanzania and Niger. However, all of these have been subjected to intensive scrutiny.

Over a period of 30 years, from 1949 to 1978, the forest area of China increased by 72 million hectares, representing 12.7 percent of the land area. The main cause of this increase was the mass mobilization of rural communities. National targets were set and then translated into specific goals for districts, brigades and communities. The revolutionary spirit pervading the program, as in all other Chinese programs, called for rebuilding and renewal. The organization for this purpose already existed; the division of tasks was prescribed uniformly throughout the nation and implemented by a hierarchy of officials and cadres.

The Korean example, which has been more highly touted than the Chinese as a model for other developing countries, seems more dramatic. Until 1973, all efforts at controlling forest degradation had failed, and seedlings planted by foresters were cut within six months of planting. Since the villagers traditionally regarded forest land as a free source of fuelwood, the result was a loss of forests around communities and the increasing use of leaves, grass, rice straw, maize stover and other agricultural residues for fuel.

The Republic of Korea embarked on a four-fold program in 1973 which involved the strengthening of the Forest Department, the passing of the new Forest Law, and the launching of an extension and public information campaign. This gave encouragement to the planting of trees, to conservation measures and to enforcement of the new law. The prohibition of leaf-raking and removal of grass litter within forest areas was enforced and a national reforestation scheme was started to create fuelwood plantations in every village.

The story in Gujarat is slightly different. By 1969, it was realized that the reserved State forest areas were dwindling through constant incursions by the rural population for their fuel, fodder, and building-pole needs. Further, the rural population was increasingly compelled to use agricultural residues and dung for fuel, thereby affecting agricultural returns. The two principles used by the Forest Department in trying to reverse this trend were, first, to provide a demonstration effect--to show people that trees could be grown with profit and for comparatively quick returns; and second, to conduct an extensive public information campaign. In implementing the former, the Government was induced to hand over responsibility for road and canal sides to the Forest Department, which planted trees there.

While the program of planting on government lands and encouraging individual tree-planting could be described as a runaway success, the village woodlot program is lagging. Starting in 1974, the Forest Department decided to get village panchayats, or locally elected bodies, involved in reforestation on village commons. The approach differs significantly from that of the Republic of Korea. The Department requests the village to set aside a portion of its lands for reforestation and undertakes all the work of establishment, maintenance and protection. These are now called "supervised" village plantations. At harvest, the village receives half of the net sale proceeds.

In addition, there are self-help village plantations where the Forest Department provides only free seedlings and technical assistance. To date, there are only 2,500 supervised, and about 70 self-help village plantations, representing about 14 percent of the villages in the State. Although Forest Department officials plan to increase their efforts to convince more panchayats to undertake community woodlot plantations, it would appear that their efforts will not be as successful as in the promotion of individual forestry.

Village woodlots in Tanzania have also not been entirely a success. The program, however, is relatively recent, having begun only in 1975. The organization and process of decision-making closely parallel those of the Republic of Korea. The basic unit, in an ujamaa village, is the village assembly which elects a council and a leader who is also the party secretary. In addition to working their own plots, villagers have to provide communal labor. Program formulation originates at the village level and then proceeds to the ward, division, district and region. At the village level, the village adviser, who is also the manager, is a government-appointed official. This framework allows for planning and decision-making directly at the village level. Although there is an inter-linking of government and elected personnel at every level up to the regional, together with provision for participation by the people, the village woodlot program has yet to achieve anything like the success of the Korean and Chinese programs.

Even less of a success was the effort to establish 500 hectares of village woodlots in Niger under a World Bank project. "As fast as the trees were planted," said one observer, "the village people either pulled them out or allowed uncontrolled grazing to take place." Of another village woodlot program in Niger, this one funded by CIDA, it was said that "effective local participation in reforestation has been throttled by an exclusive reliance...on a community woodlot system ill-suited in the socio-political context to serve as a vehicle for reforestation efforts..."

What are the reasons for the successes and failures of the programs described above? Are there any principles to be extracted from them that can be usefully applied to future village woodlot projects, or is each case, as is sometimes suggested, unique, with no possibility of relating the experiences of one project to another?

First, the Korean village is homogenous; it is not segmented by caste or tribal affiliations. Though disparities in wealth exist, they are not great. There is, therefore, a relative equality among all villagers. Second, as in the Chinese program, there is government commitment to the establishment of village plantations. This commitment takes the form of budgetary assistance, technical expertise, public education and law enforcement. It is not difficult, in these circumstances, to "convince" the landowner to part with his forest land for a return of 10 percent of the proceeds from growing trees. It is also not difficult to persuade the villager to perform his share of community duties when failure to do so would incur penalties enforceable by his village peers. Third, the "Samaeul Udong" movement, which worked in other spheres of village activity, was successfully integrated into the reforestation movement. Fourth, the organizational format reaches down to the village and provides a forum for expression, even though needs and projects are finally determined at the country level.

Gujarat presents an interesting contrast in that while individual planting has expanded, village woodlots lag. Why is this so? Based on my recent visits there and to Uttar Pradesh, I can try to offer some reasons. First, the Indian village, unlike the Korean, is heterogeneous. There is a mosaic of casts which associate only on well-recognized traditional occasions such as temple festivals. On a few other occasions, such as weddings, some castes do act in common, but only within a traditionally defined role. There is no tradition of communal action for such projects as growing trees.

In one village where community woodlots did take hold, dynamic leadership was responsible. A trusted panchayat chairman started by planting trees on his own land and then convinced the villagers that they, too, should have their own woodlot. Why did he decide on a self-help scheme rather than one in which the Forest Department would do everything for him? "Because," he said, "I refuse to pay the Department 50 percent of the profits for work on our land which is, in any event an overpayment." Where did he get funds, since his panchayat was poor? "People trust me. When I need money I approach rich villagers who give me anything I ask for."

A second key factor for village woodlots is the availability of land. There must be enough agricultural land for the local community. The village commons should be large enough so that villagers do not feel that reserving land for forestry will affect their other needs, particularly grazing. Also, the area set aside should be large enough for the harvest to meet the needs of all villagers. The percentage of villages capable of satisfying all of these conditions is small.

Third, governmental support for the program is essential. In Gujarat, while there is complete support for the forestry program, support does not appear to be as wholehearted for the village community woodlot program.

A fourth point is that Gujarat, like the Republic of Korea, has made the transition from individual initiators to a flexible organization that retains the spirit of the initiator with the addition of an extension network which reaches down to the village. Sociologically, it might be said to have made the transition from charismatic leadership to bureaucracy.

Fifth, labor for plantations and maintenance continues to be a problem, since there is little available locally and most has to be supplied by migrant tribes. Local workers are usually tied to contractors or bound by social and economic ties to landowners who are reluctant to free them during agricultural seasons (when many of the forestry operations are carried out).

Sixth, there is a problem of distribution which will soon have to be faced. It is unlikely that special preference will be given to the poorest sections of the village population. More likely, all villagers will share equally in the harvest if the village panchayat decides to distribute the fuelwood. Even more likely, however, is that the harvest will be sold and the proceeds applied to other priority needs determined by the panchayat. In this sense, village woodlots may fail to achieve their goal of alleviating the villagers' fuelwood needs and reducing their present dependence upon agricultural residues and dung as fuel.

In Tanzania, although the organizational pattern bears a close resemblance to the Korean one, the problems in establishing village woodlots are similar to those of Gujarat. Tanzania is a nation with tribal affiliations that hinder common action for 3 nontraditional activity like forestry.

The complex land-tenure system in Tanzania prevents allocation of land for forestry. The abolition of freehold land in 1963 and the vesting of land in the State mean that the farmer sees his holding as temporary: he is not convinced that he will reap the benefits of tree crops eight to ten years after planting. At the same time, villagers are unwilling to set aside lands which, despite nationalization, are still believed to belong to certain groups and which are therefore utilized and inherited according to traditional systems of tenure.

Another problem is that the villagers are willing to use only hardwoods for fuel. They will not take wood from industrial plantations because they believe it burns too quickly. Nor will they accept charcoal from softwood, despite the fact that its effective caloric value per unit weight is the same as that of hardwood, the cost of production identical, and the price only half that of hardwood charcoal.

According to John Spears, who is responsible for forestry at the World Bank, the reason why the World Bank project in Niger failed to achieve its target of establishing 500 hectares of village woodlots was because villagers "had not been involved in formulating the project and because they perceived the village woodlot area as a traditional ground." But numerous other factors were involved. Collective action was lacking. Self-help projects were generally imposed by government officials without local participation. Community schemes required interdependence and not everyone could be counted on to do his share of the work. The returns from community woodlots were too small to encourage, participation. There was a great deal of emigration during the agricultural off-season, placing a burden on a few to maintain and protect village plantations. Few villagers believed that wood would be distributed free at harvest; they felt that the Government or some rich villagers would get all the benefits. Since all the inputs were provided free of cost by the Government, the villagers did not identify with the project; moreover, the free provision of inputs reinforced their belief that it was a government project of which they would not share the benefits.

If afforestation programs are to succeed, there must first be a commitment on the part of the government. This commitment must be expressed in three ways: giving priority to afforestation, budgetary support, and the provision of staff. Where any of these three is lacking, afforestation programs falter.

There are major historical and socio-political constraints to making this commitment. Historically, the major emphasis of governments has been on feeding their populations and, where possible, developing a surplus for export. In pursuit of this goal, they have consistently supported the settlement of people in forested areas. There has been little attempt at conservation of timber resources, largely because these were considered more than adequate until the last two decades.

Planning bodies that influence economic development in developing countries are not staffed with foresters; they are flooded with economists, administrators, the occasional sociologist or anthropologist, and agriculturists. In these disciplines, forestry plays a minor role because fuelwood, for instance, and its use by the majority of the rural population do not enter into national accounting systems since so little of it is bought. The urban population, with which planners come into contact on a more regular basis, uses charcoal, wood (which "mysteriously" appears from the countryside), kerosene, gas and electricity.

Related to this is the official view of the role of a forestry department in countries where this does, in fact, exist. The forestry department has had to preserve the country's forest resources and to extract commercial species of timber. The forester's main qualification was his knowledge of tree species. His contacts with people were meant to be limited to a few poachers and some more affluent hunters. With increasing population and the hunger for land, he has fought a losing battle to maintain his domain. If there is to be change, therefore, forestry departments must have enhanced status. Training should include courses in practical sociology and extension techniques in an effort to eliminate the idea that forestry is concerned only with the preservation and reforestation of reserved forest areas.

To many governments of developing countries, the cry for investment in fuelwood resources is a step backward in the pursuit of progress. For generations now, developing countries have been told that bigger is better, that electric central heating is more progressive than fuelwood stoves, that diesels are better than coal-fired railway engines, and that cars are better than horse-drawn carriages.

The spread of new ideas and methods is usually the result of an individual, or a few individuals, trying out new ways of dealing with familiar problems. It is understandable that the richer farmer with more land should be among the first to join such programs. Who else can afford the risks? Furthermore, he is often an opinion leader in his milieu. But for a program to spread and attain national dimensions, a growing organization is needed, one which retains the spirit of the initiators and yet reaches down to the lowest village levels.

This process of transition is one of the most difficult--for rules can kill. It is a transition that has been felicitously described as a learning process in three stages: learning to be effective; learning to be efficient; and maturity through learning to expand.

Villagers have to understand a government's program before they can be expected to involve themselves in it. What, then, does involving the people mean? There are four basic principles: an acceptance of the validity of local views; the incorporation into organizational design of local participation in program formulation and decision-making; explanation of the program as a method of solving, or alleviating, the problems of the community; and obtaining community consent to the program.

To involve the people means that they must be understood: their perceptions, their priorities, their socio-cultural framework, their economic needs. To the environmentalist outsider, forest depredation may mean the loss of valuable forest resources; to the villager concerned with his daily necessities and with little ability to control his future, it may mean new agricultural land, a residence and fuelwood to cook his meals. He may regard lower returns from the land, increased erosion and floods as the result not of his own doings, but as a consequence of natural forces beyond his control. To reach the villager, then, it is necessary to understand his "worldview."

There is also the time horizon in forestry projects to be considered. Trees, unlike wheat, rice or maize, take years to mature. Even a fast-growing species needs about five years before the first cutting. Returns, therefore, are delayed. To ask a farmer, or a village, to set aside land which will yield fruit only in years to come is a difficult task.

The role of women in forestry is just beginning to be appreciated and analyzed. There are too few women involved in the design of forestry programs who could contact local women. But local socio-cultural attitudes often do not permit open involvement of women in development programs. Time will resolve both these problems, but right now, there should be an acceptance of the principle that as a matter of course, women should be involved in forestry programs, both as designers and as implementers. They should not be thought of simply as gatherers of fuelwood.

For village woodlots to succeed, the choice of an organization and in-depth knowledge of the village by itself will not suffice. To involve the villager, one must offer him a program that he understands and which caters to his needs. There must be a method in the incentives offered to encourage participation. Does the proffered species-mix provide him with trees that he knows and uses? If he decides that the trees intended to be grown as fuelwood are not suitable, they will be rejected.

Few existing programs address the problems of implementation of a village woodlot program such as maintenance or the question of distribution of the harvest. These are contractual obligations which must be settled at the outset.

Most analysts remark that maintenance of woodlots is one of the intractable problems. It is here that the difference between the self-help villages of the Republic of Korea and the supervised villages of Gujarat, is most evident. In the former, it is the villagers who maintain their woodlot, but in the latter, labor is generally hired by the Forest Department. Except in a few cases, this labor comes from outside the village. Only when the villagers are responsible for its maintenance will they believe that it really is their woodlot.

A similarly difficult problem is that of distribution of the harvest, a problem again solved only in the Republic of Korea. In Gujarat, the few plantations that reached maturity created a debate over whether the harvest should be shared locally or sold for a profit.

In short, village priorities are not necessarily the same as those of outsiders, who might want to give preference to the poor or vice versa.

Many reforestation programs only deal with the supply side of the fuelwood equation. Few attempt to alter the demand aspects. Probably this is because current fuelwood programs only meet a fraction of existing minimum requirements. Nevertheless, unless there is a changed philosophy toward fuelwood use, supply will never catch up with demand. Some programs have attempted to introduce conservation methods through, for example, the construction of improved stoves. The only program that appears to have been successful is the introduction of the "Lorena" stove in Guatemala. In Africa, the same stove had limited success.

Agencies dealing with international development in many parts of the world are planning to increase their support of renewable energy resources, and village woodlots are fundamental. However, the problems that affect the acceptance or rejection of woodlots transcend the technological and are essentially socio-cultural, economic and locally political. What it all boils down to is the willingness to understand people and to put that understanding into the design and the running of programs, wherever they may be.

The following list represents a basic summary of some important aspects of managing various wood resource systems:

- The management of natural forests involves sustaining their output without damaging the growing stock through either even or uneven aged management.

- Plantations are usually even aged, but can provide yields of different sizes and types of material over a long period of time (i.e., through thinnings for bean poles, firewood, fence posts, etc.)

- Collective and/or individual wood lots can be managed as plantations or natural forests. They are often mismanaged as a result of communal politics.

- Mill scraps, logging waste and land conversion are all sources resulting from other ongoing forestry operations.

- Agricultural fallow provides a supply of wood when trees and brush which have been planted in a planned, rotational cropping system or which have naturally seeded at the end of a cropping cycle are cut to prepare for the next crop cycle. It is not generally thought of as a potential source for charcoal and is usually burned in the fields for its value as fertilizer. It should be noted, however, that the burning process and resultant soil damage usually negate any real benefit to the soil.

- Agro-Forestry involves the integrated management of a land area for both food and fuelwood crops. Charcoal can be one of the resulting products. Management may be individual or collective.

Step 1. (5 minutes)

Review and explain the session objectives.

Step 2. (25 minutes)

Distribute Attachment 8-A, "Worldwatch Paper No. 1" and allow participants time to read it.

Step 3. (20 minutes)

Ask the participants to identify some of the causes and effects of the world fuelwood crisis brought out in the reading material (or film).

Step 4. (10 minutes)

Distribute and explain Attachment 8-B, "Direct Energy Efficiency of Charcoal Production."

Step 5. (20 minutes)

Distribute Attachment 8-C, "How the More Expensive Fuel Can Be Cheaper to Use", and Attachment 8-D, "How the More Expensive Fuel Can Be Cheaper to Buy", and ask participants to identify reasons why individuals would choose to use charcoal in spite of its apparent inefficiency.

Step 6. (20 minutes)

Distribute and discuss Attachment 8-E, "World Charcoal Use Fact Sheet."

Step 7. (20 minutes)

Have participants identify and discuss possible solutions to the world fuelwood crisis.

by Erick Eckholm

World Watch Paper 1

September, 1975

Dwindling reserves of petroleum and artful tampering with its distribution are the stuff of which headlines are made. Yet for more than a third of the world's people, the real energy crisis is a daily scramble to find the wood they need to cook dinner. Their search for wood, once a simple chore and now, as forests recede, a day's labor in some places, has been strangely neglected by diplomats, economists, and the media. But the Firewood crisis will be making news--one way or another--for the rest of the century.

While chemists devise ever more sophisticated uses for wood, including cellophane and rayon, at least half of all the timber cut in the world still fulfills its original role for humans--as fuel for cooking and, in colder mountain regions, a source of warmth. Nine-tenths of the people in most poor countries today depend on firewood as their chief source of fuel. And all too often, the growth in human population is outpacing the growth of new trees - not surprising when the average user burns as much as a ton of firewood a year. The results are soaring wood prices, a growing drain on incomes and physical energies in order to satisfy basic fuel needs, a costly diversion of animal manures to cooking food rather than producing it, and an ecologically disastrous spread of treeless landscapes.

The firewood crisis is probably most acute today in the countries of the densely populated Indian subcontinent, and in the semi-arid stretches of central Africa fringing the Sahara Desert, though it plagues many other regions as well. In Latin America, for example, the scarcity of wood and charcoal is a problem throughout most of the Andean region, Central America, and the Caribbean.

As firewood prices rise, so does the economic burden on the urban poor. One typical morning on the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal's capital city, I watched a steady flow of people--men and women, children and the very old--trudge into the city with heavy, neatly chopped and stacked loads of wood on their hacks. I asked my taxi driver how much their loads, for which they had walked severe' hours into the surrounding hills, would sell for. "Oh, wood a very expensive item!" he exclaimed without hesitation. Wood prices are a primary topic of conversation in Kathmandu these days. "That load costs 20 rupees now. Two years ago, it sold for six or seven rupees." This 300 percent rise in the price of fuel wood has in part been prompted by the escalating cost of imported kerosene, the principle alternative energy source for the poor. But firewood prices have risen mush faster than kerosene prices, also reflecting the growing difficulty with which wood is procured. It now costs as much to run a Kathmandu household on wood as on kerosene.

The costs of firewood and charcoal are climbing throughout most of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Those who can, pay the price, and thus, must forego consumption of other essential goods. Wood is simply accepted as one of the major expenses of living. In Niamey, Niger, deep in the drought-plagued Sahel in West Africa, the average manual laborer's family now spends nearly one-fourth of its income on firewood. In Ouagadougou, Upper Volta, the portion is 20 to 30 percent. Those who can't pay so much may send their children, or hike themselves, out into the surrounding countryside to forage-if enough trees are within a reasonable walking distance. Otherwise, they may scrounge about the town for twigs, garbage, or anything burnable.

It is not in the cities but in rural villages that most people in the affected countries live, and where most firewood is burned. The rural landless poor in parts of India and Pakistan are now facing a new squeeze on their meager incomes. Until now, they have generally been able to gather wood for free among the trees scattered through farmlands, but as wood prices in the towns rise, landlords naturally see an advantage in carting available timber into the nearest town to sell rather than giving it to the nearby laborers. While this commercialization of firewood raises the hope that entrepreneurs will see advantage in planting trees to develop a sustainable, labor-intensive business, so far a depletion of woodlands has been the more common result. And the rural poor, with little or no cash to spare, are in deep trouble in either case.

With the farmland trees and the scrubby woodlands of unfarmed areas being depleted by these pressures, both the needy and the entrepreneurs are forced to poach for fuel wood in the legally protected ecologically and economically essential national forest reserves. The gravity of the poaching problem in India has been reflected in the formation of special mobile guard-squads and mobile courts to try captured offenders, but law enforcement measures have little effect in such an untenable situation. Acute firewood scarcity has undermined administrative control even in China, where trees on commune plantations are sometimes surreptitiously uprooted for fuel almost as soon as they are planted.

Trees are becoming scarce in the most unlikely places. In some of the most remote villages in the world, deep in the once heavily forested Himalayan foothills of Nepal, journeying cut to gather firewood and fodder is now an entire day's task. Just one generation ago, the same expedition required no more than an hour or two.

Because those directly suffering its consequences are mostly illiterate and wood shortages lack the photogenic visibility of famine, the wood crisis has not provoked much world attention. In a way, there is little point in calling this a world problem, for fuel wood scarcity, unlike oil scarcity, is always localized in its apparent dimensions. Economics seldom permit fuel wood to be carried or trucked more than a few hundred miles from where it grows, let alone the many thousands of miles traversed by the modern barrel of oil.

Unfortunately, however, the consequences of firewood scarcity are seldom limited to the economic burden placed on the poor of a particular locality. The accelerating degradation of woodlands throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America, caused in part by fuel gathering, lies at the heart of what will likely be the most profound ecological challenge of the late twentieth century. On a global basis, an ecological threat to human well-being far more insidious and intractable than the industrial pollution of cur air and water-which has preempted thinking on environmental quality--is the undermining of the productivity of the land itself through soil erosion, increasingly severe flooding, creeping deserts, and declining soil fertility. All these problems are accentuated by deforestation, which is spreading as lands are cleared for agriculture and as rising populations continue their search for firewood. Rainwater falling on tree-covered land tends to soak into the ground rather than rush off; erosion and flooding are thus reduced, and more water seeps into valuable underground pools and spring sources.

In the Indian subcontinent, the most pernicious result of firewood scarcity is probably not the destruction of tree cover itself, but the alternative to which a good share of the people in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have been forced. A visitor to almost any village in the subcontinent is greeted by omnipresent pyramids of hand-molded dung patties drying in the sun. In many areas, these dung cakes have been the only source of fuel for generations, but now, by necessity, their use is spreading further. Between 300 and 400 million tons of wet dung--which shrinks to 60 to 80 million tons when dried --are annually burned for fuel in India alone, robbing farmland of badly needed nutrients and organic matter. The plant nutrients wasted annually in this fashion in India equal more than a third of the country's chemical fertilizer use. Looking only at this direct economic cost, it is easy to see why the country's National Commission on Agriculture recently declared that "the use of cow dung as a source of non-commercial fuel is virtually a crime."

Even more important than the loss of agricultural nutrients is the damage done to soil structure and quality through the failure to return manure to the fields. Organic materials--humus and soil organisms which live in it--play an essential role in preserving the soil structure and fertility needed for productive farming. Organic matter holds the soil in place when rain falls and wind blows, and reduces the wasteful, polluting runoff of chemical nutrients where they are applied, thus increasing the efficiency of their use.

Peasants in the uplands of South Korea have found another, equally destructive, way to cope with the timber shortage. A United Nations forestry team visiting the country in the late '960's found not only live tree branches, shrubs, seedlings, and grasses being cut for fuel; many hillsides were raked clean of all leaves, litter and burnable materials. Raking in this fashion, to meet needs for home fuel and farm compost, robs the soil of both a protective cover and organic matter, and the practice as cited by the UN experts as "one of the principal causes of soil erosion in Korea." Firewood scarcity similarly impairs productivity in Eastern Nigeria, where the Tiv people have been forced to uproot crop residues after the harvest for use as fuel. traditionally, the dead stalks and 'eaves have been left to enrich the soil and hold down erosion.

The increasing time required to gather firewood in many mountain villages of Nepal is leading to what the kingdom's agricultural officials fear most of all. For, once procuring wood takes too long to be worth the trouble, some farmers start to use cow dung, which was formerly applied with great care to the fields, as cooking fuel. As this departure from tradition spreads, the fertility of the hills, already declining due to soil erosion, will fall sharply. In the more inaccessible spots, there is no economic possibility whatsoever of replacing the manure with chemical fertilizers.

And so the circle starts to close in Nepal, a circle long completed in parts of India. As wood scarcity forces farmers to burn more dung for fuel, and to apply less to their fields, falling food output will necessitate the clearing of ever larger, ever steeper tracts of forest - intensifying the erosion and landslide hazards. Even Nepal's key economic planning body, the National Planning Commission, now says that if present trends continue, a "semi-desert type of ecology in the hilly regions" will be created.

Though most dramatically apparent in Nepal, this same cluster of phenomena threatens the future habitability of the entire stretch of Himalayan foothills, from Afghanistan through northern Pakistan, India, and Nepal to Burma. And the negative consequences by no means stop at the base of the hills. When soil washes away, it must relocate somewhere, and the rising load of silt carried by Asia's rivers is choking up expensive reservoirs and irrigation works. Most threatening of all to food production prospects on the Indian subcontinent, where nearly one in every five human beings lives, is a rise in the frequency and severity of flooding in Pakistan, India, and possibly Bangladesh, the result of denuded watersheds off which rainfall rushes quickly, and of the excessive load of sediment from upstream that builds up river beds, reducing their capacity to channel water.

Firewood scarcity, then, is intimately linked to the food problem facing many countries in two ways. Deforestation and the diversion of manures to use as fuel are sabotaging the land's ability to produce food. Meanwhile, as an Indian official put it, "Even if we somehow grow enough food for our people in the year 2000, how in the world will they cook it?"

The firewood crisis is in some ways more, and in others less, intractable than the energy crisis of the industrialized world. Resource scarcity can usually be attacked from either and, through the conservation of demand or the expansion of supply. The world contraction in demand for oil in, 1974 and early 1975, for example, helped to ease temporarily the conditions of shortage.

But the firewood needs of the developing countries cannot be massively reduced in this fashion. The energy system of the truly poor contains no easily trimmable fat such as four to five thousand pound private automobiles represent. Furthermore, a global recession does little to dampen the demand for firewood as it temporarily has in the case of oil. The unfortunate truth is that the amount of wood burned in a particular country is almost completely determined by the number of people who need to use it. In the absence of suitable alternative energy sources, future firewood needs in these countries will be determined largely by population growth.

Even if demographers are surprised by quick progress in slowing population growth over the next few decades, the demand for basic resources like firewood will still push many countries to their limits.

Fortunately trees, unlike oil, are a renewable resource when properly managed. The logical immediate response to the firewood shortage, one that will have many incidental ecological benefits, is to plant more trees in plantations, on farms, along roads, in shelter belts, and on unused land throughout the rural areas of the poor countries. For many regions, fast-growing tree varieties are available that can be culled for firewood inside of a decade.

The concept is simple, but its implementation is not. Governments in nearly all the wood-short countries have had tree planting programs for some time--for several decades in some cases. National forestry departments in particular have often been aware of the need to boost the supply of wood products and the need to preserve forests for a habitable environment. But several problems have plagued these programs from the beginning.

One is the sheer magnitude of the need for wood, and the scale of the growth in demand. Population growth, which surprised many with its acceleration in the post-war era, has swallowed the moderate tree planting efforts of many countries, rendering their impact almost negligible. Wood-producing programs will have to be undertaken on a far greater scale than most governments presently conceive if a real dent is to be made in the problem.

The problem of scale is closely linked to a second major obstacle to meeting this crisis: the perennial question of political priorities and decision-making time-frames. What with elections to win, wars to fight, dams to build, and hungry mouths to feed, it is hard for any politician to concentrate funds and attention on a problem so diffuse and seemingly long-term in nature.

Even when the political will is there and the funds are allocated, implementing a large-scale reforestation campaign is an unexpectedly complex and difficult process. Planting millions of trees and successfully nurturing them to maturity is not a technical, clearly boundaried task like building a dam or a chemical fertilizer plant. Tree planting projects almost always become deeply enmeshed in the political, cultural, and administrative tangles of a rural locality; they touch upon and are influenced by, the daily living habits of many people, and they frequently end in failure.

Most of the regions with too few trees also have too many cattle, sheep, and goats. Where rangelands are badly overgrazed, the leaves of a young sapling present an appetizing temptation to a foraging animal. Marauding livestock are prime destroyers of tree planting projects throughout the less developed world. To be successful, then, reforestation efforts often require a formidable administrative effort to protect the plants for years--not to mention the monitoring of timber harvesting and replanting activities once the trees reach maturity.

Village politics can undermine a program as well. An incident from Ethiopia a few years back presents an extreme case, but its lessons are plain. A rural reforestation program was initiated as a public works scheme to help control erosion and supply local wood needs. The planting jobs were given to the local poor, mostly landless, laborers who badly needed the low wages they could earn in the planting program. Seedlings were distributed, planting commenced, and all seemed to be going well--until the overseers journeyed out to check the progress. They found that in many areas, the seedlings had been planted upside down! The laborers, of course, well knew the difference between roots and branches; they also knew that given the feudal land-tenure system in which they were living, most of the benefits of the planting would flow one way or another into the hands of their lords. They were not anxious to work efficiently for substandard wages on a project that brought them few personal returns.

In country after country, the same lesson has been learned: tree planting programs are most successful when a majority of the local community is deeply involved in planning and implementation, and clearly perceives its self-interest in success. With wider community participation, the control of grazing patterns can be built into the program from the beginning, and a motivated community will protect its own project and provide labor at little or no cost.

Whatever the success of tree planting projects, the wider substitution of other energy sources where wood is now being used would, if feasible, contribute greatly to a solution of the firewood problem. A shift from wood-burning stoves to those running on natural gas, coal, or electricity has indeed been the dominant global trend in the last century and a half.

Events of the last two years, of course, have abruptly altered energy use trends and prospects everywhere. The most widely overlooked impact of the fivefold increase in oil prices, an impact drowned out by the economic distress caused for oil-importing countries, is the fact that what had beer, the most feasible substitute for firewood, kerosene, has now been pulled even farther out of reach of the world poor than it already was.

In a sensibly organized world, taking into account the total picture of energy, ecology, and food, the of distribution picture would look far different. The long-term interest in preserving the productive capacity of the earth and in maximizing welfare for the greatest number of people might argue for lower prices and a rapid increase, not a halt, in the adoption of kerosene and natural gas in the homes of the poor over the next two decades. This, in turn, would be viable for a reasonable time period only if the waste and comparatively frivolous uses of energy in the industrial countries, which are depleting petroleum reserves so quickly, were cut sharply.

Fossil fuels are rot the only alternate energy source being contemplated, and over the long term, many of these using firewood, like everyone else, will have to turn in other directions. Nothing, for example, would be better than a dirt-cheap device for cocking dinner in the evening with solar energy collected earlier in the day. But actually developing such a stove and introducing it to hundreds of millions of the world's most tradition-bound and penniless families is another story.

Indian scientists have pioneered for decades with an ideal sounding device that breaks down manures and other organic wastes into methane gas for cooking and a rich compost for the farm. Over eight thousand of these big-gas plants, as they are called, are now being used in India. Without a substantial reduction in cost, however, they will only slowly infiltrate the hundreds of thousands of rural villages where the fuel problem is growing. Additionally, as the plants are adopted, those too poor to own cattle could be left worse off than ever, denied traditional access to dung but unable to afford big-gas. Still, it is scientific progress with relatively simple, small-scale devices like solar cookers and big-gas plants that will likely provide the fuel source of the future in most poor countries.

In terms of energy, Nepal is luckier than many countries in one respect. The steep slopes and surging rivers that cause so many environmental problems also make Nepal one of the few remaining countries with a large untapped hydroelectric potential. Exploitation of this resource will be expensive and slow, but would relieve some of the pressures being placed on forests by the larger towns of Nepal and northern India. On the other hand, cheap electricity will only partly reduce firewood demands, since the electrification of isolated villages in the rugged Himalayas may never be economically feasible.

Firewood scarcity will undoubtedly influence governmental perceptions of the population problem in, the years ahead. It spotlights the urgency of slowing population growth through action on several fronts: making family planning services universally available, encouraging the liberation of women from traditional roles, meeting the basic social needs such as rudimentary health care, adequate nutrition and literacy that are usually associated with reduced fertility, and re-orienting social and economic incentives to promote smaller families.

The firewood crisis, like many other resource problems, is alto forcing governments and analysts back to the basics of man's relationship with the land--back to concerns lost sight of in an age of macro-economic models and technological optimism. Awareness is spreading that the simple energy needs of the world's poorest third are unlikely ever to be met by nuclear power plants, any more than their minimum food needs will be met by huge synthetic-protein factories.

Firewood scarcity and its attendant ecological hazards have brought the attitude of people toward trees into sharp focus. In his essay, "Buddhist Economics," E. F. Schumacher praises the practical as well as esoteric wisdom in the Buddha's teaching that his followers should plant and nurse a tree every few years. Unfortunately, this ethical heritage has been largely lost, even in the predominantly Buddhist societies of Southeast Asia. In fact, most societies today lack an ethic of environmental cooperation, an ethic not of conservation for its own sake, but of human survival amid ecological systems heading toward collapse.

This will have to change, and fast. The inexorable growth in the demand for firewood calls for tree planting efforts on a scale more massive than most bureaucrats have ever even contemplated, much less planned for. The suicidal deforestation of Africa, Asia, and Latin America must somehow be slowed and reversed. Deteriorating ecological systems have a logic of their own; the damage often builds quietly and unseen for many years, until one day the system collapses with lethal vengeance. Ask anyone who lived in Oklahoma in 1934, or Chad in 1975.

ERIK P. ECKHOLM is a Senior Researcher with "Worldwatch Institute. Formerly an Associate Fellow at the Overseas Development Council, he is the co-author of By Bread Alone and author of the forthcoming bock, Losing Ground: Environmental Stress and World Food Prospects (W. W. Norton, 1975).

This paper is adapted from the author's book, Losing Ground... and may be partially reproduced with acknowledgement to "Worldwatch Institute. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of "Worldwatch Institute, its directors, officers, or staff.

99% of all the charcoal produced in developing countries is made using traditional methods.

through more efficient kiln designs

- For Example: Yaoundé, September, 1981

- A reasonable hypothetical example (after D.E. Earl, 1975)

Assume that 1 Gcal (10⁹ calories) of wood energy sells for #1 (one unit currency) at the wood and charcoal production site.

Further, assume that charcoal sells there at #4 per Gcal.

Now, let us say that transportation rates are set at #15 per 100 km. for each metric tonne of the load.

Thus, for charcoal, a tonne of which contains 7.5 Gcal, this works out to #2/Gcal per 100 km.

But, for air-dry wood, which requires about two tonnes to contain the same energy, the transportation rate becomes #4/Gcal per 100 km.

Therefore, at distances greater than 150 km from the production site (in this case), the energy available from burning charcoal is cheaper than that from burning wood.

* CHARCOAL USE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES occurs primarily in urban areas where people's energy needs are great and available sources of wood are often great distances away.

* IN CASES WHERE FUEL MUST BE TRANSPORTED more than 50 - SO kilometers, it is more efficient to convert wood into charcoal. The reduced weight and bulk of charcoal make it possible to transport more potential energy at a cheaper price than transporting firewood.

* URBAN AREAS ARE DEMANDING CHARCOAL because it can be made available more cheaply than firewood and is easier to handle in congested urban areas. This demand strains available wood resources in rural areas and increases many of the fuelwood-related problems of rural people.

* THIS CONFLICT OF INTERESTS AND NEEDS between urban and rural peoples has resulted in a variety of governmental attempts to control charcoal production throughout the world. For example:

- the government of Gambia has passed laws which prohibit all types of charcoal production;

- Kenya has established permit requirements which make it almost impossible to legally produce charcoal; and at the same time,

- Senegal has placed price controls on charcoal and consequently encouraged its demand and use.

Procedures:

Step 1. (5 minutes)

Explain the session objectives and briefly review the procedures.

Step 2. (10 minutes) Have the participants form groups of 3-5 and record on newsprint their past experiences and/or knowledge of kiln types.

Step 3. (10 minutes)

Distribute Attachment 9-A, "Common Kiln Types," and Attachment 9-B, "Basic Principles of Kiln Design, and allow time for participants to review them.

Step 4. (15 minutes)

Ask participants to volunteer to identify and explain the basic design features of each of the kiln types illustrated on Attachment 9-A, "Common Kiln Types."

Step 5. (5 minutes)

Conclude by asking one of the participants to briefly summarize the essential design features of kilns.

IDEALIZED RECTANGULAR EARTH-COVERED KILNS

TYPES OF DRAFT SYSTEMS IN A CHARCOAL KILN

Procedures:

Step 1. (5 minutes)

Briefly explain the session objectives.

Step 2. (10 minutes)

Outline the procedures for developing kiln designs.

Step 3. (25 minutes)

Have the participants form their work groups and develop their kiln design plans.

Step 4. (30 minutes)

Reconvene the groups and have them present their design plans.

Step 5. (5 minutes)

Briefly review the session and explain that in the next session, participants will construct, load, and fire the kilns they have designed.

Step 1. (5 minutes)

Briefly explain the objectives of the session and outline the procedures.

Step 2. (30 minutes)

Have the participants form their work groups and construct miniature kilns based on the design plans developed in the previous session.

Step 3. (15 minutes)

When the work groups have completed construction of their kilns, demonstrate proper loading and covering techniques on the sample kiln.

Step 4. (20 minutes)

Have the work groups return to their kiln sites and complete the loading and covering of their kilns.

Step 5. (15 minutes)

Ask the work groups to gather around the sample kiln and observe as you demonstrate proper firing techniques.

Step 6. (15 minutes)

Have the work groups return to their kiln sites and fire their kilns.

Step 7. (15 minutes)

When all the kilns are fired and burning, reconvene the group and discuss the problem-solving techniques used by each work group during the design and construction processes.

Step 8. (5 minutes)

Conclude the session by reminding participants that the kiln activities will be continuing into the night.

Procedures:

Step 1.

Circulate among the kiln sites and discuss examples of kilns which appear to be functioning well.

Step 2.

Circulate among the kiln sites and discuss examples of kilns which appear to be functioning poorly.

Procedures:

Step 1. (45 minutes)

Guide the participants on a tour of each kiln and discuss the potential health and safety dangers of each design.

Step 2. (15 minutes)

Conclude the tour by asking the participants to summarize the major health hazards associated with kilns.

Procedures:

Step 1 (15 minutes)

When the first kiln appears ready to pull, invite the participants to gather around it and discuss signs which indicate that the kilns should be disassembled.

Step 2. (10 minutes)

Briefly explain the basic procedures for charcoal extraction and answer questions from the group.

Step 3. (20 minutes)

Ask the work group to pull their kilns while the other participants observe the process.

Step 4. (15 minutes)

As each layer is being extracted from the kiln, identify and discuss the various grades of charcoal found in the kiln.

Step 5. (60 minutes)

Ask the participants to return to their work groups and pull their kilns when the carbonization is complete.

Procedures:

Step 1. (5 minutes)

Explain the objectives of the session and briefly outline the procedures.

Step 2. (5 minutes)

Post and explain a basic overview of the design process.

* Explain that this list represents a general step-by-step outline of the design process that can be applied to any technical device.

Step 3. (10 minutes)

Ask participants to give an example for each step in the design process from their experience designing their kilos.

Step 4. (10 minutes)

Post and explain a basic overview of the re-design process.

Step 5. (40 minutes)

Have the participants form their original work groups and develop a modified design of their kilns.

Step 6. (10 minutes)

Reconvene the work groups and ask participants if there are any final technical points to be clarified before moving into the construction and testing of the new kiln designs.

Step 7. (10 minutes)

Conclude by asking participants to briefly evaluate the effectiveness of the problem-solving techniques used by their work groups to this point.

Procedures:

Step 1. (10 minutes)

Explain the session objectives and briefly review the procedures.

Step 2. (20 minutes)

Post, explain and finalize the schedule for Days 3 and 4.

Step 3. (12 hours)

Have the participants form their work groups and begin working.

Procedures:

Step 1. (10 minutes)

Present the session's objectives and give an overview of tomorrow's session, "Presentation of Kilns."

* The participants may be given the option of asking the rest of the group to role-play, during their presentation, a particular audience-type (e.g., traditional charcoal-makers, in-country counterparts, or forestry extensionists). By allowing the participants freedom in defining their audience, you increase the potential for variety and creativity in the presentations. If any role-plays are done, be sure the roles and situations are explained beforehand.

Step 2. (15 minutes)

Ask the group to develop a list of essential information to be included in each presentation.

Step 3. (5 minutes)

Ask the group if any further clarifications are needed. Conclude by stressing the value of using a variety of communication techniques and creating a climate of group participation during the presentations.

Procedures:

Step 1. (5 minutes)

Explain the objectives and procedures.

Step 2. (10 minutes)

Ask the participants to form 4 groups and give each group one of the situations from Attachment 16-A, "Design Situations." Explain the task as described in the Trainer Notes.

Step 3. (15 minutes)

Have the design groups work through the situations.

Step 4. (25 minutes)

Reconvene the groups and ask each one to describe the case and present their recommendations.

Step 5. (10 minutes)

Facilitate a short discussion of the socioeconomic factors which need to be considered in charcoal-making situations.

Step 6. (10 minutes)

Distribute copies of Attachment 16-B, "Realities of Making Charcoal" and ask the group to review it.

* Small sawmill on the outskirts of a medium-sized town.

* Mill-ends, slab and sawdust and stockpiled first and later burned. Some of the lumber is occasionally purchased by employees.

* Some capital is available for general improvements and repairs.

* Mill labor force includes skilled and unskilled workers.

* Variety of "junk" items on the premises.

* Mill tool shop has welding equipment.

* Fuel wood plantation in a sparsely-populated area.

* Cleared land is planted on a 10-year rotation. Some tracts are ready for harvest.

* Additional natural forest is being cleared with large equipment (Caterpillars, etc.). To facilitate immediate planting, large amounts of ungraded material from the clearing process are quickly wind-rowed and burned.

* Some capital is available for improvements and repairs.

* Heavy equipment available (e.g., Caterpillars, graders, front-end loaders, trucks, chainsaws, etc.).

* Independent charcoal-maker who works in the area around his village.

* Money earned from charcoal accounts for 95% of his family income.

* Markets his product in a large town 150 km. away.

* Transportation costs drastically reduce his profit.

* Tools are old and few.

* Traditional farmer in a populated, rural area.

* From clearing his bush fallow to plant, he has a sudden and large surplus of wood.

* Almost all his labor time is spent tending his farm.

* Owns a few, basic agricultural tools.

by H. E. Booth

H. E. Booth is an authority on charcoal production. This article was edited from an FAO paper he prepared for the United Nations Conference on New and Renewable Sources of Energy, Nairobi, August, 1981, and reprinted from UNASYLVA, Vol. 33, No. 13, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy.

The portable steel charcoal kiln consists of two cylindrical steel shells, a conical lid and four chimneys. It has been tried extensively in charcoal production throughout the world for many years.

Under suitable conditions, this kiln will make good charcoal. There are a number of examples in the developed world where it has been used successfully for many years producing charcoal on a fairly small scale. In the developing world, however, where these kilns have been tried, it is usually found that after a period of time, there is a reversion to traditional methods such as the earth pit.

Meanwhile, the various kinds of brick kilns have continued to produce more and more charcoal in the developing world. This may seem surprising when it is considered that the steel kiln appeared in Europe in its present form more than 50 years ago. The reason for its failure in the developing world is that is requires certain specific conditions which either are not present or can be provided only in uneconomic ways. In Europe, on the other hand, these conditions are available, and thus the steel kiln continues to play a useful part in charcoal production. Briefly, these conditions are:

- A high-price charcoal market.

- Ready availability of cheap steel and corresponding fabrication and repair facilities.

- Ready availability of transport facilities, i.e., roads and vehicles and the means to process and carry small quantities of timber and charcoal in scattered locations using a mobile, highly skilled work force.

- No shortage of investment and operating capital.

The typical situation in a developing country is rather different. There, the traditional method of making charcoal is to carbonize the wood in pits dug in the ground or on the side of a hill, or to cover a pile of firewood with mud and earth--the so-called earth-clamp, or "parva". In most cases, charcoal making is carried out by people without any access to investment capital. Such capital is indispensable; although it can, if necessary, be on a low level, involving people whose technological experience is limited.

A higher level of technology is available from portable steel kilns or from kilns made of bricks and set in mud mortar. While brick kilns are not mobile, they can readily be dismantled and rebuilt. In either case, there has to be a transfer of technology. The imported steel kiln has the advantage of making a whole kiln available instantly, but it requires back-up maintenance such as steel-plate welding and heavy sheet-metal working capability. These are usually quite beyond the local charcoal makers and have to be provided on a state or cooperative level, usually as a loss operation.

Brick kilns must therefore be built. Building them is a comparatively new technique requiring a supply of bricks or the ability to make simple direct-fired bricks from a sandy clay. Given these prerequisites, maintenance of brick kilns is very simple. They are virtually immune to damage from local overheating, unlike steel kilns. The only maintenance normally needed is the pouring on of mud slurry to seal cracks. Furthermore, when the kilns must be moved, say a few kilometers away, they are simply dismantled and the bricks re-assembled at the new site. However, brick kilns should be used only in cases where frequent relocations are not to be expected and where wood can be transported to the kiln.

Some type of brick kilns have no steel at all, merely mud and bricks. Others, such as the Brazilian type, have a ring of fencing wires to provide tensile reinforcement at the base of the cupola roof. The brick kiln is much larger than the steel one and hence, produces ten to twenty times more charcoal at a single burn. The brick kiln has doors, a fact that makes loading and unloading simple, since wheelbarrows, carts and sometimes conveyor rolls can be used.

The steel kiln requires the wood the charcoal to be loaded and unloaded over the top rim of the bottom section of the unit, a laborious and dusty undertaking. The wood first has to be reduced to block form, typically not bigger than 30 x 10 x 10 cm. Hence, chainsaws and complex block-splitting machines are needed to make wood preparation practical. By contrast, both earth pits and clamps and brick kilns can utilize large logs of up to 50 cm. diameter and 1 to 2 meters in length. Typically, the wood is simply cut into billets about 1.8 meters lone.

Two problems affect the steel kiln in particular. First, since air leaks occur easily at the ground line, hot spots can crop up during a burn, leading to buckling and collapse of sections of the shell. This problem is reduced, but not eliminated, where the kiln is made of more costly heat-resisting steel. Hot spots also occur with brick kilns, but they do not damage the kiln itself. The second special problem of steel kilns arises from its low insulation value. The action of rain and wind can cause the kiln walls to become too cold. This slows down the exothermic decomposition of the wood near them and results in an excessive production of party carbonized wood known as "brands." Brick kilns, because of their greater size and better insulation, are less susceptible.

Finally, it should always be borne in mind that the burning stage is only one small, though essential, step in charcoal production. The more important steps are the harvesting and transport of the fuelwood, and the delivery and distribution to market of the finished charcoal. The imported steel kiln gives an illusion of instant charcoal availability which tends to blur the vision of administrators and officials taking a good hard look at the real problems affecting charcoal supply in a developing country.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF STEEL KILNS COMPARED TO OTHER TYPES

Procedure:

Step 1. (5 minutes)

Review the objectives and format.

Step 2. (1 hour, 45 minutes)

Have the groups give their presentations.

Step 3. (10 minutes) After the final presentation, briefly discuss with the group any problems they have encountered in conveying technical concepts and ideas in a cross-cultural context.

Procedures:

Step 1. (5 minutes)

Explain the objectives and briefly outline the procedures.

Step 2. (15 minutes)

Distribute and have the participants read the Attachment 18-A, "Simple Techniques for Bio-Fuels"

Step 3. (15 minutes)

Ask the group to brainstorm a list of the possible advantages and disadvantages of charcoal briquettes based on the information in the article and their experience. Record their responses on newsprint.

Step 4. (10 minutes)

Distribute Attachment 18-B, "Briquetting as a Cottage Industry: A Case Study", and discuss the feasibility of village-level briquette manufacture.

Step 5. (10 minutes)

Distribute Attachment 18-C, "Bamako Briquettes" and Attachment 18-D, "Binders for Charcoal Briquettes" and outline the briquette-making activity.

Step 6. (2 hours, 35 minutes)

Have the work groups make briquettes.

Move from group to group, providing input as requested, but avoid directing the problem-solving task.

Step 7. (30 minutes)

Reconvene the participants, and ask each group to demonstrate their briquetting method and discuss its workability.

by Jacek Janczak

Jacek Janczak is a Polish engineer. He wrote this article originally as an FAO study for the United Nations Conference on New and Renewable Sources of Energy, Nairobi, August 1981.

Simple fuel technologies for developing countries are based on available resources and the "do it yourself" principle. While the tools for processing fuel may be manufactured locally, what is needed is a well-organized demonstration and training program covering large areas of these countries.

Although simple processing increases the heat value of big-residues considerably, every kind of fuel calls for a specific type of stove or furnace to provide optimal combustion.

Neither wood nor agricultural wastes such as wood dust, sawdust and coffee husks can be burned directly in domestic stoves. They burn with difficulty, produce considerable smoke and are unsuitable for cooking. The same is true of charcoal dust.

One of the best methods of handling such residues is by the agglomeration of small particles into briquettes. There are two principal methods of briquetting, with or without a binder. Doing without the binder is more convenient, but it requires sophisticated and costly presses and drying equipment, and is energy-intensive.

Briquetting with a binder such as tar, pitch or asphalt calls for high-pressure industrial processes to produce briquettes from hard coal, coke dust and, to a lesser extent, coal dust. Such processes are also sophisticated and expensive, and while they are not appropriate for villages, they might be very useful for central or local government projects, especially in countries having an abundance of wood and agricultural waste.

For rural populations, the most suitable briquetting methods are those which are based on available waste and building materials. The manufacturing should be done in locally made hand-operated presses. The hand-made briquette is held together mainly by the binding material. Depending upon local availability, the most suitable organic combustible materials for binding are resin, tar, animal manure, sewage mud (sludge), and fish waste.

If combustible binding materials are not available or the waste needs a stronger binding material as, for instance, in the case of charcoal dust, then it is necessary to apply non-combustible binders such as slime, clay or mud.

Although the non-combustible binder lowers the heat value of the briquette and increases the ash content, it does make possible the use of materials which otherwise would be valueless as fuel.

Design varies from the simplest, technologically primitive home-made hand-presses to very advanced automatic units. Below is a simple hand-press which can be manufactured by any village smith. The lower arm of the press is fixed to a wooden board. The pressure ranges from about 50 to 100 kg. per briquette, or 5 to 15 kg./cm.². The briquettes produced are spherically shaped, preventing the fracture of edges which is a weak point in home-made briquettes.

The materials used are soaked newspaper or any waste paper. The addition of-wood ash makes the balls harder and prolongs combustion. The briquettes are pressed into balls of about 5 cm. in diameter, and the weight of a dry briquette is about 30 9. The size of a briquette may vary, but larger balls are more difficult to press. The cost of making one press would entail 3 to 4 man-hours and 1 to 2 kg. of iron. The working time can be considerably reduced if a number of presses are manufactured together and work is well organized.

Another press which has been developed and tested consists of a square container in which waste is pressed by a screw similar to that in a wine press. Pressure is up to 2 tons per briquette or about 40 kg./cm.². The rate of production, however, is slower than with the lever press.

Good results have been obtained by adapting these presses for bricks or earth blocks. They are now well known in developing countries under such names as "Cinva-Ram," "Terstaram," and "Combustaram."

In Europe during World War I, screw-type briquette presses worked on the same principle as meat-cutting machines. They produced a continuous briquette mass for cutting into sections. The screw press has much lower pressure than the piston press and consequently has limited application for waste which is easily convertible into briquettes resistant to crumbling.

Advanced industrial presses for wood and agricultural waste exert much higher pressures, ranging from 1,000 to 1,200 kg./cm.². At these pressures, the temperature is very high. Both high temperatures and high pressure destroy the elasticity of the wood, making it possible to form the briquettes without a binder.

The first operation, common to all briquette-making processes, is the chopping and/or grinding of combustible waste. In simple village technology, where the materials to be prepared are branches, twigs and straw, the best tool for chopping is a hatchet or broad axe. For production on a large scale, different tools are required such as the straw chopper commonly used by European farmers.

The second operation is the drying of the main combustible ingredients. In a simple technology, drying should be performed without the use of fuel. The only real option, therefore, is natural drying in well-ventilaged places protected from rain. Such drying takes a long time, so the basic ingredients for briquetting should be prepared well in advance.

Third comes the mixing of various kinds of waste and binding materials in order to produce the optimum consistency and heat value. If used motor oil is available, it may be added to the waste, but, although it increases the heat value of the briquettes, it makes them crumbly.

The fourth operation is compressing the briquettes, and the fifth is drying them in open air, under shelter. Depending upon the binding material and drying conditions, it will take between a few and several months to produce dry briquettes. Drying significantly increases the heat value of the briquettes and thus saves fuel. They should therefore be produced well in advance of intended use.

Experience has shown that the successful implementation of new technical projects depends on socio-cultural, historical and economic factors as well as on purely technical ones. Many projects involving obvious technical improvements have failed because the non-technical factors were neglected.

When starting a new project, preliminary work on organization and research is essential before proceeding with technical design. The most effective way of achieving success is to assess the situation from several viewpoints.

On the basis of this inquiry, targets for the promotion of new fuels should be established. Costly and time-consuming surveys are not necessary. The environmental aspects should also be taken into consideration, because the combustion of biomass waste in stoves eliminates one of the important elements in the ecological chain. Under normal conditions, biomass waste is recirculated to the soil.

If this delicate equilibrium is broken, the consequences may be observed in decreasing productivity of the soil and, in extreme conditions, in its desertification.

Owing to the interdependence of fuel and stoves, it is recommended that stove and fuel improvement programs be undertaken concurrently. A combined program might consist of improvements to existing stove designs and fuel types to suit local cooking practices, and the design and construction of new stove models, together with the introduction of new types of fuel.

New briquettes should be tested. This is the only way to collect and compare the technical data of the various options available locally.

Field testing should be applied, both to develop or improve new fuels and to analyze their heat values. Groups of people from different backgrounds could be organized to investigate, promote, and later use the fuels in their households on an experimental basis. They should be invited to carry out further investigation on the composition of locally available biomass waste for briquetting and binding materials.

In most developing countries, there are considerable quantities of biomass waste which could be processed by means of agglomeration and densification. The best results are usually achieved if several kinds of material are mixed with a binder. The heat value of well-dried, compressed big-fuel waste is similar to that of fuelwood. However, the uncontrolled use of biomass waste could have adverse ecological consequences on the soil, such as reduced fertility. Careful evaluation of how much and which biomass can be used as fuel in specific regions should be undertaken and monitored by competent officials.

Table 1. Ignition temperatures of solid materials

Source: Author's measurements

Table 2. Net heat value of firewoods

Source: T. Wojciechowski, Nouka e drawnie, PWRIL, 1961

Table 3. Materials used for the manufacture of briquettes

Paper waste

Municipal waste

Wood waste

Coconut fibre

Peat

Tundra dust

Cotton waste

Sawdust

Straw

Groundnut shells

Hazelnut shells

Olive-oil residue

Sugar cane

Bark

Rice husks

Sunflower husks

Leather waste

Hemp

Manure

Used motor-oil (as an additive to solids)

Hay

Shrubs

Fish waste

Food processing waste

Table 4. Comparison of sample bio-fuels

A national corporation was set up by an African country to manage a natural forest using the income from forest products to finance its management operations. The forest chosen for management had been degraded over the years by grazing and wild fire. The surrounding villages had historically been given free use of this land which was now declared reserved forest.

One of the major products available from this forest was charcoal. The corporation used earth kilns for production and the yields were good. The labor force was recruited locally allowing some return to the surrounding villages.

After a few weeks of production, it was discovered that about 10% of the charcoal was remaining behind in the soil after carbonization. The small particles could be recovered by flotation, but were too fine to be sold on the domestic market. The corporation decided to set up a briquetting operation.

Preliminary investigation uncovered two options for setting up the operation. The corporation could import both equipment and resin binder from Europe and produce briquettes "in-house." Or, they could set up the production as a local cottage industry using village labor, tree gums gathered from the area, and simple techniques which would produce briquettes comparable in quality and cost to the in-house briquettes. It was also found that the briquetting work would fit into the local agricultural work-schedule and provide another source of income to the villages.

The corporation decided to make the briquetting a cottage industry. They designated charcoal recovery areas for each village, provided basic training, and bought the finished briquettes from the villagers at a mutually agreed-upon price.

The final result was a saving of investment capital by the corporation and a firmly established local industry. The cooperative effort was then expanded into different fields.

This technique was developed at the request of Peace Corps Mali to transform millet stalks into an easily transportable energy source. The best use of most agricultural waste is to return it to the soil, but if this is not technologically or socially possible, most agricultural waste can be carbonised or used directly for fuel, preferably in improved cooking stoves. Carbonising reduces the bulk of the fuel, preserves fuel from insects and fungus, facilitates storage, and provides a smokeless fuel for use in densely populated areas.

In the Bamako tests, millet stalks were carbonised in an oil drum kiln. This takes 2 to 3 hours of labor per day. The resulting charcoal is-fluffy and fiberous and is easy to form into briquettes. The charcoal is lightly pounded to reduce bulk, and non-carbonised pieces are then picked out. The powder is placed in a container of 20 to 40 liters and binder is added.

The binders used in Bamako were gum arabic and clay. Due to the fiberous nature of the charcoal produced from millet stalks, briquettes using no binder at all were also successfully produced, but they break down from rough handling and disintegrate more rapidly when burning. Using clay only produced a briquette with sustained heating properties, but is was hard to keep going and left a ceramic residue which blocked heat from below. Gum arabic binder produced a briquette which held together well and was quite satisfactory. Gum arabic with a small amount of clay produced the best briquette. The addition of clay extended the burning time and gave a denser briquette. The binder was prepared by dissolving gum arabic in water and adding it to the charcoal, along with enough clay and water to make the mixture rather stiff. Inch and a half plactic pipe was used to form the briquettes by jabbing the pipe up and down in the mix until the pipe was forced full of the mixture. The pipe was then removed and held at a slight angle to the ground. A push rod of slightly smaller diameter was inserted to push out the mix. The actual maneuver is more like holding the mix with the push rod and sliding the pipe off of the mix. This can be done directly on the ground or on mats, and should be exposed to the sun. The resulting long sausage can be left to partially dry if necessary. If the mix is correct, it can immediately be broken into small segments on 2 to 3 cm. thickness and each briquette placed on its side to dry. In Bamako, during May, the briquettes were sufficiently sun dried in two days to burn well and were easily handled without breaking. One batch was caught in a heavy rain after one day of drying but remained stable, even though they required an additional two days of drying. None of the briquettes gave off objectional odors when burned and user acceptance was good.

A binder is simply something which holds the charcoal briquette together while it is being moved about or while it is burning. Briquettes can be made without binder if the charcoal itself is of a fluffy nature, as in some types of charcoal made from agricultural wastes. But, these briquettes will tend to fall apart as burning takes place, and they certainly won't stand up to rough handling.

Adhesiveness is the most basic and important quality to look for in a binder. However, some of the most adhesive binders may be uneconomical or unacceptable to the user. Some possible binders are:

tar

starch

plant resins

commercially prepared resins

clay

animal manure

fish waste

molasses

In the US, the most commonly used binder is starch. In southern Senegal, the smell of burning starch is objectionable to the people and a local tree gum has been found that is acceptable. Clay will act as a binder, but the powdery residue blocks the passage of radiant heat, and much of the heating value of the charcoal is lost. Briquettes prepared with tar or molasses have to be heat-treated to drive off the volatiles that have been added.

In addition to the binder, a carrier is needed to make a good mixture with the powdered charcoal. As this is usually water, the binder should tee wafer soluble, or at least emulsifiable in the case of oil-based binders. Some binders, such as fish waste or starch, will require precooking to make them sticky.

The usual formula for a briquette mix using starch is 100 kilograms of charcoal, 5 to 7 kilograms of starch, and 30 to 35 kilograms of water. Starch can be obtained from roots or grains, preferably those which do not serve as a source of food. Crush or grind the grain or root and wash the starch from the crushed residue. The starch is contained in the wash water and will settle to the bottom. If you catch a sample of the wash water in a clear glass container before the starch has had a chance to settle, you can calculate the necessary amount of water needed to cook and mix the starch. Measure the starch depth and multiply by 3.407. That is where the top of the water column should be. Water can then be added to or removed from the main container in like proportion. These proportions will give a mixture of starch and water that will gelatinize without becoming too thick. It should then be heated to 65�C, at which point it will thicken and can be mixed with the charcoal.

Procedures:

Step 1. (5 minutes)

Explain the session objectives.

Step 2. (10 minutes)

Ask participants to briefly review and explain factors to be considered in evaluating different types of kilns.

Step 3. (15 minutes)

Ask participants to identify some of the variables which should be considered in calculating yield.

Step 4. (15 minutes)

Distribute the samples of raw wood and have participants estimate the moisture content of each sample.

Step 5. (5 minutes)

Reveal the real, calculated moisture content of each sample by writing it on the newsprint beside their estimates.

Step 6. (20 minutes)

Distribute Attachment 19-A, "Elementary Calculation of Moisture Content" and Attachment 19-B, "Energy Potential of Raw Wood" and practice calculating moisture content.

Step 7. (15 minutes)

Distribute and explain Attachment 19-C, "Charcoal Yield Worksheet."

Step 8. (20 minutes)

Ask participants to practice solving two hypothetical yield problems.

Step 9. (15 minutes)

Conclude by asking participants to discuss examples of ways in which yield calculations could be helpful at their work sites.

In forestry it is customarily given as a percent fraction on a DRY basis:

Beware that we customarily think in terms of "percent of a total," in this case giving a WET basis figure which is NOT generally used: