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C. Nabukalu and R. Giere
6.5.1 Middlemen as Stakeholders and Enablers
of the Charcoal Trade
As with the trade of many other tangible products, numerous stakeholders are involved in the trade of charcoal (Sander, Gros, & Peter,
2013). In rural areas, such as Nsero in the Luwero district (Fig. 6.1),
we observed that there are cases where producers move charcoal from
the kilns and deliver it directly to customers’ homes, where charcoal is preordered, and the customers are already known. However, as
Tabuti, Dhillion, and Lye (2003) observed, consumption of charcoal
in rural areas is generally lower than that of firewood because of the
low purchasing power of the local population. Charcoal is, therefore,
moved to urban markets, which are more lucrative (Alfaro & Jones,
2018; Nabukalu & Gieré, 2019; Ekpo & Mba, 2020). Middlemen, or
traders, are responsible for the value-adding role of transportation to
make charcoal consistently available in final markets. The role and the
degree of involvement of middlemen occur in different ways based on
factors, such as market knowledge, size of capital resources to conduct
logistics, and knowledge of producers. For example, we observed in
the Nwoya district (Fig. 6.1) that the informal companies are the
primary middlemen because they purchase charcoal directly from their
contracted nomadic producers, based on their employment agreements,
and access production sites with high-powered vehicles to load charcoal
after harvesting.
Along the Kampala-Gulu highway (Fig. 6.1), we observed that some
middlemen move charcoal from kilns to busy roadsides (Fig. 6.3a), where
charcoal is sold either by the sack to final consumers, or in bulk to
other downstream traders. This has implications for the procurement
of charcoal upstream. For example, higher-tier traders tend to have a
deeper knowledge of the local native languages in the region where
they buy charcoal, more geographical knowledge of the rural areas, and
more connections to charcoal burners that may lack resources, such
as trucks to move charcoal further downstream. Even though Branch
and Martiniello (2018) stated that middlemen merely take advantage of
higher prices in urban centres and pay producers the minimum, thus
keeping them poor, it is essential to note that the higher-tier middlemen,
C. Nabukalu and R. Giere
6.5.1 Middlemen as Stakeholders and Enablers
of the Charcoal Trade
As with the trade of many other tangible products, numerous stakeholders are involved in the trade of charcoal (Sander, Gros, & Peter,
2013). In rural areas, such as Nsero in the Luwero district (Fig. 6.1),
we observed that there are cases where producers move charcoal from
the kilns and deliver it directly to customers’ homes, where charcoal is preordered, and the customers are already known. However, as
Tabuti, Dhillion, and Lye (2003) observed, consumption of charcoal
in rural areas is generally lower than that of firewood because of the
low purchasing power of the local population. Charcoal is, therefore,
moved to urban markets, which are more lucrative (Alfaro & Jones,
2018; Nabukalu & Gieré, 2019; Ekpo & Mba, 2020). Middlemen, or
traders, are responsible for the value-adding role of transportation to
make charcoal consistently available in final markets. The role and the
degree of involvement of middlemen occur in different ways based on
factors, such as market knowledge, size of capital resources to conduct
logistics, and knowledge of producers. For example, we observed in
the Nwoya district (Fig. 6.1) that the informal companies are the
primary middlemen because they purchase charcoal directly from their
contracted nomadic producers, based on their employment agreements,
and access production sites with high-powered vehicles to load charcoal
after harvesting.
Along the Kampala-Gulu highway (Fig. 6.1), we observed that some
middlemen move charcoal from kilns to busy roadsides (Fig. 6.3a), where
charcoal is sold either by the sack to final consumers, or in bulk to
other downstream traders. This has implications for the procurement
of charcoal upstream. For example, higher-tier traders tend to have a
deeper knowledge of the local native languages in the region where
they buy charcoal, more geographical knowledge of the rural areas, and
more connections to charcoal burners that may lack resources, such
as trucks to move charcoal further downstream. Even though Branch
and Martiniello (2018) stated that middlemen merely take advantage of
higher prices in urban centres and pay producers the minimum, thus
keeping them poor, it is essential to note that the higher-tier middlemen,