Study on Charcoal Scarcity and the Limitations of Existing Cooking Fuel Alternatives

Abstract

The charcoal distribution chain has been widely affected in Kenya due to a logging ban that resulted from excessive deforestation. Now, roughly half of Kenyan households must spend half of their daily income to cook their food. Charcoal is made through the process of carbonization, in which wood is burned in an oxygen-limited environment, and is being mostly imported from Uganda. The common alternatives to charcoal have downsides including higher cost and inaccessibility. The goal of this paper was to analyze the fuel market to understand the bigger picture of how to solve the problem of charcoal scarcity. This was done by surveying over sixty charcoal users at households and a local Kisumu market to get an understanding of their fuel preferences and costs per meal. The data was analyzed to obtain percentages of different fuel types, numbers of total fuels, and frequency of fuel usage. The findings proved our hypothesis, which was that current charcoal alternatives are too expensive and difficult to use, and do not serve as a viable charcoal replacement; they did not meet the needs of the consumers. Thus, we have concluded that there is an opportunity space for a more sustainable and accessible cooking fuel source.