CHAR:ME

THE PROJECT

The CHAR:ME project is one of the winners of the POLISOCIAL AWARD 2022 – “Local Development and Ecological Transition” from Politecnico di Milano. The project aims at the development and dissemination of sustainable technologies for recovering solid fuel from organic waste. The goal is to replace conventional alternatives such as firewood and charcoal, which are among the main causes of deforestation in developing countries.

SECTORS OF INTERVENTION

Sustainability, Clean Cooking, Environmental protection

Location

Hell-Ville, Nosy Be,
Madagascar

Donors

Polisocial Award 2022 – Politecnico di Milano

TEAM

DICA, DCMC, DENG, DEIB e TTO – Politecnico di Milano
Blucomb SRL
Demetra Società Cooperativa Sociale ONLUS

BENEFICIARIES

300 families

DURATION

18 months
(Jan2023 – Jul2024)

THE PRoblem

The project takes place in the Antsiranana province in the northwest region of Madagascar, which is affected by intensive exploitation of primary forests for the production of firewood and charcoal used as fuel for domestic food cooking. This practice has been and continues to be a cause of significant environmental and social damage in Madagascar, including

  • Loss of 40% of forest cover and subsequent loss of biodiversity
  • Emission of 1-2.4 Gt CO2-eq per year, equivalent to 2-7% of total anthropogenic emissions (a portion of these emissions is due to domestic food cooking)
  • Women and children spend an average of 2.2 hours per day collecting fuel
  • Health risks due to the release of pollutants in enclosed environments (e.g., carbon monoxide, particulate matter), with 16,500 cases of premature death each year.

objectives

main objective

Developing and disseminating a sustainable technology for recovering solid fuels from organic waste.

specific objectives

  • Reducing deforestation by replacing the use of traditional fuels with a new solid fuel derived from organic waste.

  • Preserving biodiversity in collection areas by promoting sustainable forest management through awareness-raising activities in the involved areas.

  • Decreasing greenhouse gas emissions by substituting wood charcoal with a new fuel derived from organic waste.

  • Ensuring responsible production of the new fuel, minimizing the release of harmful chemicals and pollutants into the environment.

    The activities

    The produced fuels are intended for distribution to the local community for domestic use with the aim of promoting a virtuous mechanism of waste recovery and transformation, in order to prevent environmental and social impacts, including health-related ones, within the intervention context.

    The project will unfold through the following activities:

    1. Selection and preparation of waste materials
    2. Development of the briquetting process
    3. Development of the pyrolysis process
    4. Development, prototyping, and evaluation of the solution

     

    DONORS

    OTHER PROJECTS

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    Tany
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    AGRICULTURAL
    FEELING

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