He has come up with innovative ways to produce clean energy by turning palm oil waste into useful products
Kigoma. “Opportunities surround us,” says Hassan Kilanoza, a resident of Matiazo village in Simbo ward, Kigoma. He has come up with innovative ways to produce clean energy by turning palm oil waste into useful products.
Kilanoza has designed a special machine that produces alternative charcoal from palm oil residues left after oil extraction and another one of biogas.
For more than two decades, he has relied on creativity and innovation to earn a living. He started out as a welder and a mechanic for car engines and various machines, before shifting in the early 2010s to palm oil production.
He later registered his company under the name Kilanoza Palm Oil Company Investment Limited to attract investors and partners.
His reputation grew further when he developed machines that make charcoal from palm oil residues. “I used to produce a lot of waste from my palm oil operations,” he said.
Initially, he transported the waste to farms as fertilizer, incurring costs without seeing real benefits. Eventually, he thought of converting the waste into charcoal, leading him to design a machine for that purpose.
The biogas journey
Kilanoza’s path to clean energy did not begin with charcoal. He first experimented with biogas for household cooking. He used a byproduct known locally as mchachiko oil residues usually discarded to generate gas.
“After realizing that these residues would swell and produce gas, I built containers to store the biogas, and it worked efficiently,” he explained.
For more than three years, he has relied on this gas for cooking at home. However, the biogas initiative has not expanded into a commercial venture due to financial challenges.
Out of 15,000 liters of wastewater produced daily from palm oil, he only manages to use 40 liters for biogas, with the rest going to waste. He believes that with adequate capital, he could produce enough gas to supply an entire village.
Birth of alternative charcoal
A turning point came when Kilanoza attended a training session organized by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) through its Voices project, which promotes the transformation of waste into economic opportunities.
Inspired by the training, he created a machine to produce alternative charcoal from palm oil waste. “My charcoal burns for more than 12 hours without going out and has no negative impact on the environment. Unlike charcoal from trees, it lasts longer and does not require excessive tree cutting,” he said.
He built his machines using scrap metal, demonstrating how waste materials considered useless can be turned into valuable resources.
Benefits and customers
Kilanoza’s alternative charcoal is regarded as both an economic and environmental solution. “According to experts, one ton of my charcoal performs the same as 12 tons of traditional wood charcoal,” he noted.
The efficiency of his product has attracted many customers, including maize and chips vendors, restaurants, and small-scale bakers of bread and mandazi. “I sell my charcoal at an affordable price of Sh300 per kilo.
Just one kilo is enough to cook beans until they are ready,” he said, adding that wood charcoal costs more and burns out quickly.
The machines he designed can produce up to 30 tons of charcoal per day, though he currently produces only about one ton due to financial and infrastructure constraints.
Buruani Hilali, a maize vendor in the area, said, “I have improved my business by using this charcoal. First, it is cheaper, and second, it lasts longer. One kilo can serve me for two days.”
Challenges
Despite the progress, Kilanoza acknowledges several challenges. He lacks adequate space for drying and storing charcoal, has no warehouses, and does not have transport to deliver products to customers.
“The market is there, but I have no means to transport the products. My working space is also too small. Since the charcoal takes three to four days to dry, I need bigger facilities. If I had financial support, I could relocate to a larger area and increase production to meet Kigoma’s demand,” he explained.
He also urged the government to place more emphasis on ensuring that institutions such as schools, colleges, and large communities adopt clean energy, rather than continuing to depend heavily on wood charcoal. Government and clean energy
The Kigoma regional government has been promoting clean energy with a goal of having 80 percent of households using it by 2034.
In March 2025, Kigoma-Ujiji Municipal Council, under Director Kisena Mabuba and then-MP Kirumbe Ng’enda, distributed more than 200 improved cooking stoves to women entrepreneurs’ groups and Tasaf beneficiaries.
Even so, Kilanoza pointed out that without support from the government and development partners, it is difficult for small entrepreneurs to achieve significant milestones. He admitted that he might have abandoned the project altogether if not for the encouragement and backing from CRS.
The role of CRS
According to Roberts Muganzi, project manager for Voices at CRS, Kilanoza had no prior knowledge of alternative charcoal until the organization trained him. “He was focused only on palm oil production.
We taught him how palm oil waste could be turned into economic opportunities, and today he stands as a model of clean energy innovation in Kigoma,” said Muganzi.
The Voices project aims to improve the quality of water in Lake Tanganyika by promoting a circular economy where waste harmful to the environment is transformed into useful products.
It operates in three local government authorities: Kigoma-Ujiji, Uvinza, and Kigoma Rural. The project expects to reach 119,160 people between 2024 and 2028, with over 30,000 already benefiting.
Muganzi added that CRS works with the Vice President’s Office and agencies such The National Environment Management Council (NEMC). Officials from the three local councils have been trained in Moshi, a town known for its environmental initiatives, so they can apply the lessons in Kigoma.
Through its Circular Economy Challenge Fund, CRS has set aside up to Sh3 billion to support entrepreneurs engaged in circular economy projects. Depending on assessed needs, grants range from Sh10 million to more than Sh200 million.
Future plans
With such support, Kilanoza is optimistic about expanding his operations. “If I receive capital, I will scale up charcoal production and also improve my biogas project to supply cooking gas to the entire village.
I also plan to acquire a plastic recycling machine for business,” he said. For CRS, Kilanoza’s work is an inspiring example of how citizens can drive the clean energy agenda.
With collaboration between communities, organizations, and government, access to clean, affordable energy can expand while protecting Kigoma’s forests from deforestation.
This report is sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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