Organic briquettes

Malawi's fast-growing population has put enormous pressure on the country's existing energy infrastructure and has led to an exponential growth in deforestation. This is leading to worsening flooding and erosion as the trees that once held everything together are now gone. Erosion leads to a loss of fertile soil and the drying out of the earth, adding to an already vicious circle of human impact on the environment.

Traditionally, Malawians use firewood or charcoal to cook. Up to 89% of the country does not have access to the national grid, and at current rates Malawi will be stripped of all its trees by 2079. In certain parts of the country, the army has had to protect forests from illegal logging and charcoal production. There is a dire need for an alternative to wood-based fuels

Organic or biomass briquettes are made from organic waste like rice husks, coconut fibre or dung, and are a simple and efficient alternative to charcoal or firewood. The benefits are plenty: they burn 2 to 3 times as long as charcoal and are much denser; they create less smoke, reducing the health risks of cooking indoors. They are affordable and mitigate climate change by saving trees. Given the ready availability of rice husks and other bio waste in Malawi, we feel organic briquettes are a solid alternative to our initial brick making project. The Malawian government has recently recommended the use of organic briquettes instead of charcoal.

Biogas

At Green Malata we now cook exclusively with biogas. This allows us to reduce our environmental footprint as we use far less firewood than before. After successfully installing three biogas generators, we have now included biogas as part of our Renewable Energy course.

Solar batteries

Malawi’s current energy crisis is a serious problem that affects all aspects of life. It is difficult to find an area not impacted by the lack of power in Malawi. Business, education, healthcare, transport, air travel, tourism. When the lights go out, everything is affected. Factories close, children cannot study, travel becomes dangerous.

In order to provide a cheap and reliable energy source to the local area, we rent out solar batteries from our electricity kiosk which can be used to power lightbulbs, radios, televisions, and to charge mobile phones. 

Brick making

In Malawi, bricks are traditionally made in a giant kiln. Heated with mountains of firewood. The resulting bricks only last a few years and often disintegrate during the rainy season. At Green Malata, we make bricks using the ‘cold’ method. No heat, no firewood and no kilns.