Training Day 2 and Questions about a Charcoal Business
by Catherine LaineAugust 25th, 2006
Because there were nearly double the number of expected participants at yesterday’s training, the Ekip Chabon decided that they would have to limit attendance today. While very excited about the large amount of interest, Amy and co. felt strongly that having so many people would hurt the overall educational experience. There weren’t enough materials to go around and each person would have less of a chance to do the hands-on part of the seminar. While the charcoal making process isn’t difficult, there are a few finicky sections where it is important to get a chance to do it yourself. The solution was to have the different groups/organizations select a leader and 4 other members to attend today and tomorrow’s sessions. The MIT team paid transportation costs home for group members that needed the financial aid.
It was a real shame to have to lose some people, but the smaller cohort that was left (a little under 40 people) was the optimal size. There were lots of questions, lots of participation; overall it was great. This cohort seems to be more interested in business development that the group at Les Cayes. There were also a lot of questions about alternative agricultural wastes that could be used.
There was one glitch that was sort of to be expected. The plantation that was our first source of the bagasse has since recognized the value of sugar cane waste and plans to use it themselves. Gerthy, ever resourceful, found another source and a massive amount of bagasse was delivered early afternoon.
This is something that’s rather important to suss out about if proposing that charcoal production could be a viable business. How will the prices of bagasse or other agricultural wastes change as people shift from seeing them as garbage to seeing them as saleable products? How likely is it that farmers and plantation owners begin to use the waste they produce for their own fuel needs rather than making it available on the open market as a raw material? I think the charcoal trainings have demonstrated that there is an interest in the product. It is easy to create and it works very well. The questions on the horizon have to do with who can produce it, can it be done profitably, at what scale, etc. etc. Another issue that is worth dwelling over is the tradeoffs between using agricultural waste as a fuel source vs. an additive to compost.
AIDG is very interested in creating and selling these charcoal makers in Haiti as well as in Guatemala, where last year’s Hurricane Stan revealed some of the devastating affects of deforestation. We’ll be doing feasibility studies to determine the answers to some of the issues raised above.
