I never knew that one day I
would stand to write these words. Every time I remember, my heart trembles like
a wound that had begun to heal but has been touched again. This is a painful
memory, one that deeply scarred my life as it changed right before my eyes, all
because of something I once thought was ordinary: charcoal. I believed
charcoal was just a part of everyday life, as natural as the air we breathe something
harmless, simple, and familiar. But I was wrong. What seemed like a symbol of
warmth and home was slowly becoming the silent thief of life itself. Walk
with me, and you will understand more about this hidden truth.
Growing up in a boarding school where
cooking meant smoke thick, choking smoke from firewood and charcoal. As a
child, I didn’t know that the same smoke that cooked our food was silently
damaging my heart. 2 Years later, I was diagnosed with rheumatic heart disease,
a complication that came from prolonged exposure to indoor air pollution.
That illness changed my life. It made me
realize that what we call “normal cooking” is actually a slow, daily threat to
millions of Tanzanians especially women and children. That’s where my
motivation began. I promised myself that one day I would do something to help
families cook safely without harming their health or the environment.
After studying Bachelors in Environmental
Science and later Masters of Public Health, I started to see the link between
energy, health, and poverty. During my Master’s research, I focused one key
drivers and barriers to biomass briquettes as an alternative source of energy
and that’s when the dream of Nishati Eco Biomass Briquettes Ltd was born.
At first, it was just an idea converting
agricultural waste into clean cooking fuel. But over time, it became a mission.
Today, my company produces carbonized biomass briquettes made from materials
like sawdust, rice husks, coconut shells, and avocado waste. We sell them to
households, restaurants, and schools as a cleaner, cheaper replacement for
charcoal and firewood.
“It is true that our schools are major
users of firewood, go to our other institutions and you will see how firewood
is used, that is why we issued these instructions to ourselves (Government
institutions and private institutions) to first start organizing ourselves in
this and we will help reduce environmental damage,” stressed Dr. Jafo.
All Public and Private Institutions in
Mainland Tanzania that prepare food and feed more than 100 people per day must
stop using firewood and charcoal by January 31, 2024, while those that prepare
food and feed more than 300 people per day must stop using this energy by
January 31, 2025.
Wanafunzi wa Shule ya Msingi Mapambano - Mkoani Mbeya.According to the Third State of the
Environment Report of 2019, the rate of forest destruction is high and every
year more than 469,420 hectares are destroyed due to deforestation for the use
of firewood and charcoal. It is also estimated that 16 percent of the land has
been degraded and is facing the spread of desertification and drought due to
many people engaging in unsustainable activities including using wood and
charcoal for cooking due to the fact that this energy is easily available and
many people can afford its cost.
Therefore, due to the impacts that have
emerged, the Government's current priority is to build an industrial economy,
the use of alternative energy including alternative charcoal will provide
opportunities for factories to manufacture alternative charcoal in conjunction
with producing standardized and efficient stoves for the efficient use of this
energy.
Minister Jafo calling on gas, alternative
charcoal and efficient stove companies to use this ban as an opportunity to
mass produce these products to expand the market scope for these institutions.
It will be recalled that on June 1, 2021,
the Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania Hon. Kassim Majaliwa
issued a declaration on World Environment Week and directed Institutions,
Government Agencies and the Private Sector to start using alternative energy
for cooking and other production activities.
Beyond production, we conduct trainings
and awareness sessions for women, schools, and institutions teaching people how
to switch to clean cooking, how to produce briquettes themselves, and how to
see energy as part of climate action. Many of the women we train are now
earning incomes by selling briquettes or running small clean-cooking
businesses.
But the journey hasn’t been easy. As a
youth in climate action, I often face challenges limited access to funding,
lack of recognition for local innovators, and sometimes policy barriers that
slow down implementation. At the Pre-COP30 Stakeholders Meeting, where I
represented the Tanzania Renewable Energy Association (TAREA), these challenges
became very clear.
We discussed the National Clean Cooking
Strategy 2024-2034, which is an excellent roadmap, but translating it into
action on the ground needs support especially for young entrepreneurs like us
who are already doing the work. I raised the point that gender and climate
cannot be separated: when women have access to clean cooking, it’s not just an
environmental issue, it’s a health, economic, and empowerment issue.
I told the meeting that if we truly want
Tanzania to achieve its clean-cooking goals, we must invest in local innovators
and community training, not just policies. Because the women in villages, the
cooks in schools, and the young people producing briquettes they are the real
drivers of this transition.
For me, every briquette we make is more
than just fuel it’s a symbol of hope. Hope that no little girl will have to
grow up breathing the same toxic smoke that almost took my life. Hope that our
country will realize that clean energy is not a luxury, it’s a right.
When I look back, I see that what began as
pain has turned into purpose. From being a victim of indoor air pollution to
becoming a clean-cooking advocate, my story is part of a much bigger one Tanzania’s
journey toward a healthy, sustainable, and gender-inclusive climate future.
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