STORY: Ugandan women turn agricultural waste into biofuel to save trees
SHOOTING TIME: May 30, 2024
DATELINE: June 5, 2024
LENGTH: 0:03:40
LOCATION: Kampala
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the sanctuary of Set Her Free
2. various of mixing raw materials for making briquettes
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): ROBERT AGABA, Program officer of Set Her Free
4. various of women making briquettes
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (Luganda): SHEEBA KWAGALA, Briquette maker
6. various of restaurant cooking using the biofuel briquettes
7. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): MICHAEL KALYESUBULA, Chef
8. various of briquettes
9. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): ROBERT AGABA, Program officer of Set Her Free
10. various of women at Set Her Free

STORYLINE:

Every morning, Sheeba Kwagala and her colleague head to a sanctuary in the Ugandan capital of Kampala to mash agricultural waste, mainly banana peels and crop residues, with molasses and clay to make briquettes.

Briquettes, a type of renewable energy source and a form of solid biofuel, are said to be more energy-efficient than wood or charcoal, largely used in the East African country.

"We crush agricultural waste, then mix it with clay and molasses to solidify it. We put the mixture into a machine that forms the briquette. Learning how to make briquettes is easy, and I will share my skills with other women," Kwagala, 20, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), biomass is the main source of energy in Uganda, accounting for 94 percent of all energy produced. Of the total biomass consumed, wood fuel accounts for about 80 percent, charcoal 10 percent, and crop residues 4 percent. Nine out of 10 households use either firewood or charcoal for cooking.

The FAO noted that charcoal production has far-reaching negative environmental, social and economic impacts.

Despite a recent increase in forest cover from 9 percent in 2015 to 13 percent in 2021, with a projected rise to 15 percent by 2025, Uganda's forest cover declined from 25 percent of the country's land mass in 1990 to about 9 percent in 2015, according to the National Forest Authority, Uganda's state-run forest conservation agency.

As the world marks World Environment Day, which falls on June 5 every year, Kwagala and the growing number of briquette makers in Uganda are making a difference.

Through their caretaker organization, Set Her Free, a local non-governmental organization empowering vulnerable young women, they supply briquettes to restaurants, schools and other institutions that are transitioning from using wood or charcoal as fuel.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): ROBERT AGABA, Program officer of Set Her Free
"Briquettes are one of our major sources of energy here at Set Her Free. And it came out of the result of the need to save the environment as an organization, and also to train and teach our girls on how to save the environment. So in making these briquettes we use agricultural waste like banana peelings."

According to the World Bank, using biomass briquettes can result in significant energy cost savings of up to 30-40 percent compared to non-renewable fuels, making them an economically advantageous choice.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Luganda): SHEEBA KWAGALA, Briquette maker
"I learnt how to make these briquettes in one day. One day they told us we were going to learn how to make these briquettes. Our teacher got char, clay and molasses, and mixed them. Learning how to use the machine was a little difficult in the beginning, but after you learn it, it becomes easy to operate."

Michael Kalyesubula, a chef at a restaurant in Kampala, told Xinhua that he now prefers to use briquettes instead of charcoal.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): MICHAEL KALYESUBULA, Chef
"It's just 2,000 Ugandan shillings (about 50 U.S. cents) here in Uganda. And, when you use this alone, in our single domestic charcoal stove, it can last for 8 hours to 9 hours. Whereas if I'm to use charcoal, I am going to need a full basin of charcoal, and that is going to cost me more and more."

Robert Agaba, head of programs at Set Her Free, said heavy users of wood and charcoal, such as schools and hotels, are increasingly switching to briquettes as wood and charcoal become more expensive due to deforestation.

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): ROBERT AGABA, Program officer of Set Her Free
"Charcoal and wood are the main sources of energy, but as the country is becoming increasingly urbanized, there is a scarcity of firewood, there is a scarcity of charcoal. Charcoal is becoming expensive, and also forests are becoming scarce. Man is depleting these forests, which we need for our environment, for rainfall formation. So, these briquettes save the environment. These briquettes save us from global warming, because we don't destroy the forest; we use agricultural waste, so we save the forests that would otherwise be destroyed."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Kampala.
(XHTV)