Lushoto Briquetting Investigation

During our first week in Tanzania, Edith, the director of EARD-CI, told us of a briquetting project in Lushoto and recommended that we visit them. Emil Cashin, a member of the Summer 2011 DHE trip, echoed this recommendation and passed on contact info for people involved in the project.  On Wednesday, Amelia and I arrived in Lushoto and met with the a VICOBA located in Dochi, a thirty minute walk from the town center.  The group’s highly organized briquetting operations had clearly fostered immense success.  Most indicative of this success was the VICOBA building in which we sat, purchased with the proceeds of their briquetting business.

We quickly learned through the aid of our translator, a local teacher named John, that the group had been producing briquettes since 2007. The group was trained by the masters of briquetting themselves, the Stanley’s of the Legacy Foundation. We were also told that the Legacy Foundation supplied them with two grinding machines and a metal ratchet press. In addition to this press, they had a wooden compound lever press constructed by a carpenter within the group.

At the Dochi VICOBA, briquette making occurs when there is no rain, meaning most of the heavy briquette production happens in the dry season. The group quoted the long drying time as the reason production was abandoned during wet conditions.  VICOBA members work in rotating groups of five for five days a week when weather permits. They make 400 per day, with a portion of these distributed within the group for personal use and sold to generate individual income. The remainder are sold by an agent in Dar es Salaam.

This group’s effective time management and organization contributed heavily to their success. As we continue to help the Lulu VICOBA develop their project, we need to highlight the need for a clear leader of briquetting operations, as well as establish a regime for keeping track of material processing and recording production. We will also locate charcoal sellers in the Nkoarisambu area, as this may offer a valuable source of raw materials and an profitable venue for Lulu’s entrepreneurs to sell their briquettes.