6 The Status and Future of Charcoal in the Energy …
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subjects of this study were regular participants in the trade, and some
had been working in it for more than two decades. Some urban traders
at the market stalls in Kampala and in Gaba, at the shore of Lake Victoria
(Fig. 6.1), were primarily middlemen that had no direct participation in
production but knew rural producers and had well-coordinated logistics
to secure steady supply. All photographs are original and our own. The
people featured are actual participants in the trade.
6.3.1 Fieldwork Sites
A combination of rural and urban sites was visited in Uganda, with
locations shown in Fig. 6.1. Upstream activities such as tree felling,
production, transportation and wholesale trade at the kiln were studied
in rural sites: Naminato Bridge in the Northern Nwoya district; BuleraBusaana, Kikumbi and Namiwunda in the Mityana district; and Nsero,
Wobulenzi and Kigoloba in the Luwero district.
Urban sites in the Kampala district included: Along the Wakaliga
and McKay roads near the Nateete market and the Gaba market, along
the shore of Lake Victoria. Furthermore, the role of middlemen was
discussed along the highway between the Kampala and Gulu districts,
and with traders at the shore that linked Kome island in the neighbouring Mukono district to Kampala’s urban consumers.
6.4 The Status of Raw Material Procurement
for Charcoal Production in Africa
The rudimentary methods of rural charcoal production through pyrolysis in single-use earth-mound kilns were discussed in detail by Andreas,
Magnus, Hans, and Gerard (2017), Nabukalu and Gieré (2019), and
Alfaro and Jones (2018). Briefly, producers cut trees with hand tools,
such as axes and pangas (Fig. 6.2a), or oiled machinery, such as chain
saws, to obtain the raw materials. The logs are then piled (Fig. 6.2b) near
their parent tree stumps and covered with damp soil, leaving openings
to set them alight with matches, vent moisture and gases (Fig. 6.2c), and
195
subjects of this study were regular participants in the trade, and some
had been working in it for more than two decades. Some urban traders
at the market stalls in Kampala and in Gaba, at the shore of Lake Victoria
(Fig. 6.1), were primarily middlemen that had no direct participation in
production but knew rural producers and had well-coordinated logistics
to secure steady supply. All photographs are original and our own. The
people featured are actual participants in the trade.
6.3.1 Fieldwork Sites
A combination of rural and urban sites was visited in Uganda, with
locations shown in Fig. 6.1. Upstream activities such as tree felling,
production, transportation and wholesale trade at the kiln were studied
in rural sites: Naminato Bridge in the Northern Nwoya district; BuleraBusaana, Kikumbi and Namiwunda in the Mityana district; and Nsero,
Wobulenzi and Kigoloba in the Luwero district.
Urban sites in the Kampala district included: Along the Wakaliga
and McKay roads near the Nateete market and the Gaba market, along
the shore of Lake Victoria. Furthermore, the role of middlemen was
discussed along the highway between the Kampala and Gulu districts,
and with traders at the shore that linked Kome island in the neighbouring Mukono district to Kampala’s urban consumers.
6.4 The Status of Raw Material Procurement
for Charcoal Production in Africa
The rudimentary methods of rural charcoal production through pyrolysis in single-use earth-mound kilns were discussed in detail by Andreas,
Magnus, Hans, and Gerard (2017), Nabukalu and Gieré (2019), and
Alfaro and Jones (2018). Briefly, producers cut trees with hand tools,
such as axes and pangas (Fig. 6.2a), or oiled machinery, such as chain
saws, to obtain the raw materials. The logs are then piled (Fig. 6.2b) near
their parent tree stumps and covered with damp soil, leaving openings
to set them alight with matches, vent moisture and gases (Fig. 6.2c), and