Jikos areound Naiorbi and Mini-charcoal kilns on the way to a REDD+ project in Tsavo

The extra large oven at the tailsmen 

new space heating frogs 

getting ready to make lunch on a KCJ 

Mini charcoal kiln kits 

the kit comes with free tree seeds and a energy saving cookstove

A energy saving stove and tree seed lecture at the Juhidi Children's Club, "Growing up Green Childrens Camp" Nairobi School Aug. 2011

 During this camp, Juhidi Children's Club hosted 314 children from all the 8 provinces in Kenya for five days where they got the opportunity to share and learn about the current environmental conservation and preservation trends. Through this we believe that we helped them to understand the role they can play in their local communities in the conservation of the environment and from this they pledged to be environmental ambassadors who will facilitate countunity of and introduction of good environmental practices from the vast knowledge they got.

There is no doubt that there is a huge need in sensitizing the young generation on the benefits of environmental conservation as well as highlighting the benefits and opportunities available.

the seed-to-ash cycle of renewable energy display table

Q & A session with some of the students

keeping everyones hands warm on a cold nairobi morning

a double boiler making tea.

Kenya Seeds Of Change

The Kenya Seeds Of Change initiative aims to contribute towards national afforestaion by land owners through the countrywide sales of inexpensive tree seeds and the promotion of direct seeding woodlot establishment. Seeds are by far the best method of promoting wide scale tree planting in Kenya. These are some of the benefits from the direct planting of tree seeds compared to planting seedlings;

•Seeds are Cheaper! (At roughly 0.25cents per tree compared to 20+ shillings per seedling)
•The tree’s hardiness and survivability increases and its by direct seeding, 1000's of trees become so easy to plant.
•Thousands of seeds can be transported and stored much more easily then thousands of seedlings can until the planting time comes.
•Seeds can be massively disseminated through existing retail outlets with minimal price increments from producer to consumer. Tree seedlings face problems of availability at the right time, dissemination logistics etc.
•Partially domesticated indigenous tree species are best grown from seed. They are already adapted to Kenya’s climate, soils and pests and the trees are currently widely used and understood by the population.
•Seeds simplify the enhancement of the genetic diversity of planted woodlots.
•The above/below ground biomass ratio is more conducive to healthy growth when a tree is planted from seed.
•Overall financial losses and risks from drought, animals etc. are significantly less under direct seeding.

Available at the Carnivore Restaurant, UniqEco in Karen, Lukenya Agrovet in Kitengela Town, Roslyn Green Gardens in Westlands with more outlets to come!

The first best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is NOW!!!


(K-SOC)

The “Scorched Earth” Charcoal Kiln Rehabilitation Program

Cookswell Jikos Ltd. and the Woodlands 2000 Trust

Promoting holistic drylands natural resource management.

Traditional Charcoal Kiln Site Rehabilitation in Kenya

Once the ‘army’ of charcoal makers has moved on they leave behind patches of earth where the kiln was located that have been subjected to high temperatures for long periods of time. This causes a number of serious land degradation issues, up to one foot below the surface of the land can be essentially sterilized; bacteria, nematodes, earthworms, seeds, humus, rhizomes, all die or are destroyed from the partial combustion of large amounts of wood in a closed kiln.

In areas where the silica content is high this treatment produces what are essentially uncompacted red-fired clay blocks. This type of treatment takes years for the soil to even begin to start recovering. Where the unused branches and thorns are piled up, they can adversely cover the grass for grazing until they sufficiently rot down enough for livestock to access underlying pasture.

This leaves the area where the kiln was situated directly exposed to the elements and particularly prone to erosion. Typical sites that data has been collected from, average 482m, which is roughly 1/100th of an acre, which may not seem like much, but in areas under heavy charcoal production, there may be 10 or more kilns per acre which means that the land owners lose 1/10th of an acre every cycle. In areas where intensive charcoal production is taking place, this amounts to hundreds of acres so finely spaced out that they escape immediate notice.

How many kiln sites can you count here? 

In many dryland areas the main land use model is based on semi-nomadic pastoralism. Typical stocking rates of livestock is around 3 acres of land per head of sheep and 6 acres of land per head of cattle. As the loss of pasture and tree cover (many acacias provide valuable dry season fodder from the seeds and leaves) increases alongside National demand for nyama choma (BBQ), the competition for resources in these areas is amplified and may result in further forest degradation.

Objective: To exemplify appropriate methods of rehabilitating ‘scorched earth’ charcoal kiln sites into productive, multi use zones.

Strategy: Micro-woodlot and pasture seedbank establishment will be the key tool in rectifying current and preventing future destruction. A simple 3 step program is advised.

- When/where possible the kiln sites should undergo double digging and mix in adequate amounts of manure and organic matter.

-The micro-woodlots should be covered with the waste branches from previous charcoal production

-Then the kiln site should be high density directly seeded with endemic and carefully selected tree and grass species that pelleted into seedballs and to be naturally irrigated by rainfall. We advise focusing thet tree seeds int he middle and then grasses on the edges of the kilns and covered with thorny branches if possible.

As the trees grow, the tight spacing will give them a growth tendency of being tall and straight as they compete with each other for light. This is done so that when the time comes to harvest them, they are ideal dimensions for cutting, transporting, processing and using. That is 2-3in thick and 3-4ft long. When harvested correctly the trees will coppice, therefore ensuring a future woodfuel source.         

Increasing uptake of higher efficiency wood energy technologies such as portable ''branch'' kilns and improved cookstoves will also have a positive effect on reducing trees cut down and land burned by earthen charcoal kilns.

Budget: The initial demonstration micro-woodlots will need to be externally financed. The charcoal makers themselves should finance all others under stipulation from the landowner as part of the charcoal making process and cost. Labour is the only key input. That is because all other inputs are locally available. Seeds can be collected from the wild or seedballs purchased or donated to local conservation organizations through this link (http://www.seedballskenya.com/donate/4594311653) manure is typically free from the landowner’s livestock enclosure, the fencing material is a waste byproduct that is already on location. The labour cost for fully rehabilitating one kiln of typical dimensions in a rural area should be around 500ksh.

Conclusion: Soil and arable land loss is one of the greatest threats to riparian systems in dryland areas. The use of low efficiency charcoal kilns has a huge unintended impact on the ecology of areas under production. Coupled with minimal to nil reforestation programs in charcoal making Counties this problem will continue to degrade the land and therefore adversely affect area residents and also all people living downriver.

                                



For some further reading about the charcoal trade in Kenya please see;

http://www.kenyaforestservice.org/documents/redd/Charcoal%20Value%20Chain%20Analysis.pdf

http://seafkenya.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/kenya-charcoal-report.pdf

http://old.worldagroforestry.org/downloads/Publications/PDFS/wp06119.pdf

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311739982_Assessing_the_effect_of_charcoal_production_and_use_on_the_transition_to_a_green_economy_in_Kenya