Mangochi women turn to briquettes for energy

Some women from Senior Chief Nankumba in Mangochi District have turned to briquettes as an alternative source of energy for household cooking.

Speaking in an interview on Sunday, Nsangu Women’s Group treasurer Susan Mzunga said they started producing briquettes after seeing how deforestation devastated their area.

She said: “When we formed the group in 2018, we were just planting trees to restore the lost vegetative cover in the area, but after seeing that people continued to depend on firewood for fuel, we decided to come up with a solution.

“Our colleagues in Zomba taught us how to produce briquettes from tree leaves and used paper.”

Mzunga said besides generating income from selling the briquettes, people now show interest in using briquettes for cooking instead of using firewood, thereby saving the environment.

Nsangu Women’s Group chairperson Rhoda Harawa said their vision is to have their own briquette production plant.

“The demand is high, but we produce only two bags a day,” she said.

One of the customers, Hanifa Mponda encouraged people to use briquettes.

“One bag takes two months while the same bag of charcoal just lasts half a month,” she said.

An environmental advocate Matthews Malata commended the women for the initiative, saying the country needs more community-led interventions to protect the environment.

Mangochi District Forestry officer Leonard Kamangadazi said there is need for more consultations to sensitise communities to ecosystem conservation.