Silent killer: The true cost of Shinyanga’s charcoal racket
A charcoal market near Tinde Primary School in Tinde Ward, Shinyanga Region. It is a key collection and transit point for charcoal destined for Shinyanga Municipality. PHOTO | JULIUS MARICHA
Dar es Salaam/Shinyanga. As dawn breaks over Tinde, Samuye and Ishina Bulaindi villages in Shinyanga Region, bicycles and motorcycles loaded with sacks of charcoal slip out along dusty tracks towards main roads linking rural settlements to urban markets.
Across the landscape, land lies stripped bare. Fresh stumps and blackened earth bear witness to recent tree felling for charcoal production.
