Kilosa outlines key strategies for switch to clean energy sources

Morogoro. Kilosa District in Morogoro Region is among the areas facing significant forest degradation driven by the trade in firewood and charcoal.

This energy, heavily used for cooking, is transported from Kilosa to be sold in towns and cities across the country.

The writer of this article recently spoke with Kilosa District Commissioner Shaka Hamdu Shaka about the situation and strategies put in place to reduce the use of firewood and charcoal.

Mr Shaka said the first strategy is to ensure that village forests are protected and conserved, with local communities given the responsibility to safeguard them.

Another strategy, he added, is to engage stakeholders who can provide education on the dangers of unsafe energy, alongside distributing modern cooking technologies that reduce firewood and charcoal use.

However, he emphasised that communities must move away from the habit of using firewood and charcoal and adopt energy sources that are clean, environmentally friendly and safe for health.

“Recently, the Rural Energy Agency (REA) came to Kilosa and introduced improved cookstoves that use less charcoal. They were sold at prices affordable to residents and indeed many people embraced them,” Mr Shaka said.

REA project

The Director of Renewable and Alternative Energy Technology at REA, Ms Advera Mwijage, explained that there is an improved cookstove distribution project that began in Kilosa and will later expand nationwide.

“This project is implemented in villages and towns. The goal is to ensure that every Tanzanian uses energy that is safe for health and the environment,” she said.

The government subsidised 80 percent of the cost of each stove, so citizens pay Sh14,700 instead of Sh73,500. Additionally, through the program to distribute gas stoves and other clean cooking energy solutions in institutions serving more than 100 people, REA has provided gas stoves to all prisons nationwide.

These facilities have fully transitioned from firewood and charcoal to gas, briquettes and other safe energy sources.

Community voices

Ms Fatuma Ally, a nutritionist and resident of Behewa Ward, said she was motivated to buy a stove after seeing and using one at her relative’s home.

“It saves charcoal. The amount used to cook food is minimal compared to the stoves we were used to,” she said.

Ms Ally welcomed the affordable price of Sh14,700 and the sales system requiring a NIDA ID, which prevents anyone from buying multiple stoves and reselling them at higher prices.

Previously, she spent over Sh100,000 on charcoal each month, but with gas and the improved stove, she expects costs to decrease. Before using gas, she consumed two bags of charcoal monthly, but now her expenses have dropped to Sh50,000. With the stove, she anticipates further reductions.

Ms Ally also appreciated the durability of the stove and the government’s approach in ensuring fair distribution.

Electricity in schools

In addition to these strategies, Kilosa will benefit from a joint project by the National Carbon Monitoring Centre (NCMC) at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) and the World Food Programme (WFP) aimed at reducing deforestation by providing alternative energy to schools and communities.

Recognising that a large percentage of households and institutions depend on firewood and charcoal, with thousands of hectares of forest cut annually, NCMC and WFP signed an agreement to use electricity for cooking in 50 primary and secondary schools.

NCMC Executive Director Eliakim Zahabu said the project is being implemented in Kigoma, Tabora, Dodoma and Dar es Salaam and later in districts of Morogoro Region.

“This project will reduce the use of firewood and charcoal, which drive deforestation for student meals,” Zahabu said.

WFP Resident Representative, Ronald Tran Ba Huy, stated that nearly 500,000 hectares of forest are lost annually in the country due to firewood and charcoal use. Smoke from these energy sources causes respiratory and internal diseases, especially among women and children.