Greener energy in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement
Meeting the energy needs of refugees and communities in emergency situations is usually second to basic needs such as food and shelter. Yet, energy plays an important role in supporting displaced communities return to normal lives.
According to UNHCR data, Uganda was hosting 68,703 refugees at the Kyangwali Refugee Settlement in March 2018. This population of refugees needs support to meet their daily household energy needs.
The Uganda programme of Action Africa Help International (AAH-I) is upscaling the use of charcoal briquettes to ensure that the population in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement has access to a more environmentally-friendly source of energy. With funding from UNHCR, we have are providing training to individual and group briquette producers, during which producers learn how to:
- Safely handle tools and equipment used in the production
- Source locally available biomass for the charring process
- Fill the kiln and decompose the biomass at high temperature (pyroloyzing) for quality char powder
- Sift the char powder and mix it with a binder
- Dry, package and store the briquettes
To date the project has provided training to 45 groups and supported the formation of four briquette producer groups, including equipping them with briquette-making machines. Through this initiative 7,120 people have been reached through 2,464 home visits tailored to assess adoption of environmental conservation practices and to increase use of briquettes as a source of energy. As at December 2017, 1,082 refugee households in Kyangwali had access to charcoal briquettes.
Producer emptying charred biomass
Drying the briquettes
Briquettes ready for use
This initiative is under the AAH Uganda multi-sectoral programme in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement in Hoima District. This programme is focused on improving the quality of life for refugees and nationals through supporting self-reliance and livelihoods projects and integration of social services delivery with local government systems. Key sectors in this programme include social protection, education, health, water, sanitation and hygiene, logistics and infrastructure and environment and energy.