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Muhiyadin Sharawe

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More examples of ways to make charcoal?

I have visited some countries in Africa, and as Amy mentioned, women and girls spend most of their time collecting firewood and cooking for their families.

I would love to go back but i want to be involved this time, and I want to see if we can come up with better ways of making charcoal. Any additional advice and ideas will be highly welcomed and appreciated. I have been doing research on solar cooking but it has not impressed me, since those people are not financially well off and can't buy them.

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Topics: developing nations technology
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  • Gordon Barker 10+

    • +1
    Oct 26 2012: Just go to google and enter "making charcoal" and take the Images for making Charcoal entry
    My favourite is "http://www.razoreye.net/mirror/charcoal-making/Charcoal%20Retort.htm" which is a self sustaining oil drum based reducing fire.
    But there are many different ways depending on your source material. If you don't have a lot of hardwood around, Amy Smiths approach to making charcoal is recognized as one of the best methods.

  • george lockwood 20+

    • 0
    Oct 26 2012: I didn't see that talk yet;however, you do raise a number of issues. There are many ways to warm and heat including electricity. It might seem that her talk is more appropriate to one group than another. Dung is a fairly traditional source of fire and heat. What if there is deadwood all around? What if there is an electric grid, but it has to be overloaded and three hundred million people end up in the dark and cold as happ[ened in India recently. All this is heavy stuff and is location dependent.
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