Project Detail

Mitigating Climate Change through sustainable wast management practices - Production of eco-fuel blocks from saw dust.

The eco fuel blocks project fundamentally addresses the twin problem of the disposal of masses of saw dust waste generated by timber saw mills whilist at the same time providing an affordable alternative energy source to fuel wood.the timber saw mills in zimbabwe `s eastern highlands produce millions of tonne of saw dust annually as a by product of thir operations which they dispose of by open and free incineration. this naturally contributes to the emission of the green house gas , carbon dioxide accompanied by the dissipation of large quantities of heat energy into the atmosphere. Safire seeks to harness this energy for domestic and micro industrial purposes in the form of of eco fuel blocks or saw dustbriquettes. the masses of saw dust waste produced by Zimboard in Mutare are currently posiing a srious threat in terms of solid waste management.the eco fuel blocks project seeks to provide an alternative to fuel wood in the form of environment friendly eco blocks based on saw dust briquttes.

project objectives
-harnessing the energy in saw dust waste and other fibrous materiials for domestic energy purposes in the form of environmentally friendly eco blocks
-providing an affordable alternative energy source of energy to fuel wood for both rural and urban households through the introduction of environmentally friendly eco -blocks.
-reduction in the emission of gren house gases associated with the free burning of saw dust
-reduction in deforestation
-awareness of the environmental hazards associated with deforestation.

project outcomes
-an annual reduction of saw dust incineration of 25000 tonnes in the first year rising to 75000 tonnes at the end of the third year which directly corresponds to the reduction in the associated free emission of GHG`S
-provision of 25000 tonnes of an environmentally friendly renewable form of energy in the form of eco blocks by the end of the first year of production and 7500tonnes at theend of the third year
-acceptance and use of ecoblocks as a sutitute for fuel wood and coal by communities , agro industrial and industrial users
-introduction of environmetally friendly enerhy efficient eco -stoves
-reduction in deforestation associated with fuel wood harvesting in the target communities
-reduction in disposal costs for saw dust waste by timber sawmills
-improvement in community livelihoods through
1. provision of eco blocks as an energy source to communities without access to fuel wood
2. use of energy efficient eco stves
3. use of eco blocks to support the growth and develpment of cottage industries
-increased awareness by target communities of the impact of deforestation engendered by fuel wood harvesting

planned activities to achieve outcomes
-forging partnerships with key stakeholders in the eco blocks/ eco stoves project
-expansion of the pilot plant to accomodate two additional briquettes machines for eco -blocks
-purchase of two briquettes machines and production of eco blocks
-design, develpment and promotion of energy efficient eco stoves
-awareness and education campaigns and promotion of the use of eco blocks as an environmentally friendly renewable form of energy that arrests deforestation.
-monitoring and evaluating the use of eco blocks and eco stoves and their impact on livelihoods and deforstation in the target communities.

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Project Snapshot

Grantee:

Southern Alliance for Indigenous Resources

Country:

Zimbabwe

Area Of Work:

Climate Change Mitigation

Operational Phase:

Phase 2

Grant Amount:

US$ 50,000.00

Co-Financing Cash:

US$ 16,181.81

Co-Financing in-Kind:

US$ 1,454.55

Project Number:

ZIM/01/04

Start Date:

8/2001

End Date:

9/2002

Status:

Satisfactorily Completed

Project Characteristics and Results

Gender Focus

Burden of fetching firewood is on women and project will help in relieving this burden and giving them time for other chores. 80% of project membership are women who have been actively involved in project planning and designing.

Inovative Financial Mechanisms

Eco-fuel blocks project managed to mobilize support from Border Timbers who have given them the space to operate on their premises. In addition, in order to sustain the opeartions of the project, the group is going to sell the eco-fuel blocks to the recipient communities tough at a subsidized price.

Planning non gef grant

Following the successful production of saw dust briquettes at pilot scale , Environtech intends to commission briquette production plants with requisite capacity utilise the sawdust waste generated by Border timbers at its sawmills and the furniture factory in Mutare.

Significant Participation of Indigenous Peoples

Project lies in Chimanimani District which has been marginalised and isolated. The project will allow the indigenous people to be involved in the manufacturing of eco-blocks which was seen as a private sector domain and it is quite a challenge to them and to the nation as a whole.

Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods

Project seeks to provide an affordable alternative energy source to fuel wood since the community chosen does not have easy access to fuel wood since the area has been massively deforestated and the members have to walk long distances to actually buy firewood from the farms which has become very expensive. In the urban areas, the households selected are in the low income sector who are heavily relying on paraffin which has become an expensive commodity and the smoke has repercussions on health. Production of eco-fuel blocks will be an alternative to wood and kersone and is more affordable that the project beneficiaries will be able to make a saving.

Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment

Project will start raising awareness on the direct beneficiaries who will then carry the message to other neighbouring communities especially on how millions of tonnes of saw dust produced at saw mills which is currently being disposed of through open and free incineration can be harnessed for both domestic and micro-industrial area. This is a new initiative under GEFSGP and will need a lot awareness raising through electronic and print media.

Notable Community Participation

The community has been involved in the project from the onset through designing teh project and coming up with their work plan of activities. During implementation, the group will be directly involved in the production of the eco-blocks together with setting up dealerships for sale of the eco-blocks at a profit for themselves.

Linkages gef projects

The conversion of sawdust waste into briquettes has significant impact on climate change through the reduction of greenhouse gases associated with he free burning of saw dust waste into the atmosphere which is practised by many saw mills in Zim. Briquettes can also be used as a substitute for fuel wood on the other hand will also arrest deforestation.

Capacity - Building Component

The project is a demonstration and capacity building project which will involve the training of project members in the actual production of eco-blocks, concept testing and marketing of the product. They will be trained on other aspects of project, financial management and record keeping to capacitate them to produce reports of substaintive and technical quality.

Policy Impact

The project will help to influence espeically on the need to invest resources on the use of renewable sources of energy given the continued depletion of wood fuel.

Project Results

The first phase was well done. The group managed to procure the briquette machine from Switzerland and actually produced the first batch of briquettes for testing. The product was widely accepted and this resulted in more orders coming. However, the major handicap was that the funds were not sufficient to ensure continued production since there is need to build a shelter where the production is taking place.

This project has seen the strengthening of partnership with the private sector especially Border Timbers who have given a site for the establishment of the briquette plant.In terms of policy, this project has helped to come up wth better strategies of waste management and control by converting the saw dust that was previosly burnt into the atmosphere into usable form i.e the briquettes. It is a giant step in terms of demonstrating environmentally friendly ways of waste management that do not have repercussions on the atmosphere.

In terms of future programming, the project now requires funds to go into steady production of fuel blocks so that they can adequately meet the ever increasing demand. To this end, they have produced a concept paper for medium sized funding. They are also seeking assistance from other sources that include CIDA and SEDCO.

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