Takachar

Takachar creates a network of waste management enterprises in Kenya that turn unmanaged agricultural residues into charcoal, a low-cost, non-toxic, and eco-friendly cooking fuel for low-income households. They have developed a series of low-cost (US$20), locally manufacturable technologies to enable waste-to-char conversion, which has been tested and refined in Kenya for the past 3 years. Since 2011, They have set up or directly helped 7 nascent and locally run waste-to-charcoal enterprises in Kenya, some of which have since even demonstrated operational profitability and paying customers. So far they have created about 100 jobs and sold 50 tons of eco-char. Moving forward, they are trying to prove the long-term financial viability of these enterprises, which, if successful, will be the basis of a franchise network.