Tanzanian cuisine traditionally uses charcoal for cooking food, with wood readily available to everyone. The existing alternatives, namely gas and electricity, are too expensive for the majority of the population, which contributes, despite itself, to deforestation to satisfy this primary necessity.

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Jacqueline, a graduate in community economic development and then in her thirties, founded the Pace Initiative for Smallholders (PIS) association, the objective of which is to manufacture pellets from waste that found in Ifakara.

Pellets are wood waste from many joineries as well as rice hulls, removed and discarded during the refining process.

The ovens designed for the combustion of pellets are imported from China and currently allow around a hundred households to use this method of cooking. However, stoves produced in China remain financially inaccessible for the majority of the rural population and orders are currently on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To meet growing demand from the local population – around 500 households are waiting for the delivery of pellets – Jacqueline requested a loan from KAZI to be able to start production of the ovens in Ifakara.

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Figures :

• Loan of 2,000,000 TSH (about CHF 790.-) over a period of 12 months

• Reduce dependence on third countries

• Foster Tanzanian industrial manufacturing capacity

• Positive ecological impact: circular economy through local production, use of waste and reduction of deforestation

• Increase the financial accessibility of this method of cooking and therefore its ecological impact