Description of Challenge
Deforestation for fuel, Lack of income, Waste charcoal, Mosquitoes
Solution
Charcoal biquettes or ‘earth orbs’ are balls of compressed flamable matter for starting and maintaining a fire.
How to make them:
Collect the remains from charcoal cooking fires. Mix the charcoal remains with corn cobs or other such material and Pyrethrum Plant (Dalmatian insect flower, Big Daisy). This plant improves the combustion (fire power) of the orb and its smoke chases away mosquitoes. If no pyrethrum is available, you can replace it with a local plant with similar properties. Mold the mix into balls of 250 grams (about 1/2 pound) each. The balls are left in the sun for several days to dry.
The finished orbs burn very well and are a marketable product. They thus can provide additional income for the makers. And their easy production can be done by women, the elderly and youth–people most in need of income.
The Earth Orb project will inspire change at its most effective level–on the ground, spurred on by villagers who care deeply about the health of their communities, their local economies and most of all, their place on the planet.
