Don’t throw away your charcoal!

When you burn wood for cooking or heating, ash and charcoal are a byproduct. The charcoal can be separated as it is still a valuable fuel. So valuable that if all the charcoal was collected from all households who produce it, the amount would be 3.2 times more than the global industrial demand. Plus it is most often women in rural/low-income households who produce the most. Imagine these women out-producing industrial charcoal production, making a sustainable livelihood, and cooking meals all at once! These are the types of innovation we need and are being put to practice in villages of rural India through the Livelihood Program at International Network for Bamboo & Rattan.