Over 90% of rural households in the country use firewood for cooking while 80% of urban households depend on charcoal as a primary source of fuel-- About 2.5 million people in Kenya depend on charcoal trade either directly or indirectly (this is from a 2005 survey, am sure the figures are higher by now), so given this demand, it is unrealistic to call for the ban on charcoal burning, BUT, we can’t continue cutting down acacia for charcoal; can we start looking at alternatives such as the mathenge tree (Prosopis Juliflora); the tree has invaded almost every corner of ASALs in Kenya today, we complain bitterly about it, but rarely do we look at its advantages such as; 1)Mathenge wood burns well even when green so does not require storage and drying 2)The wood does nor spit, spark or smoke excessively, and the smoke is never unpleasant 3)It’s readily available – I mean its EVERYWHERE! 4)Large branches and trunks yield a high quality timber, comparable in colour, finish and physical attributes to some commercial hardwoods can therefore be used for posts and poles, the wood is also called ‘wooden anthracite’ in some areas. Useful to build cattle sheds with the big size poles.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 19:44:06 +0000
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