Businessman Patrick ngatia explains how briquettes are prepared and dried at his premises in Nyeri. The former Air Force man realised that he could make money from making briquettes. PHOTO|JOSEPH KANYI. NATION
In Summary
The former Air Force man and father-of-four later realised that he could make money from making briquettes — rods of flammable material used for cooking as an alternative to charcoal.
The World Bank compensates about $16 for every tonne of carbon saved which means that this could be another source of revenue.
Most of his clients remain largely restaurant owners because most domestic users either do not know about the material or are too far to reach them at a cheaper cost.
By AGGREY MUTAMBO
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When Patrick Ngatia quit his metal forging workshop business 10 years ago, he had no specific venture in mind.
He tried tapping sap from cypress trees to make local inhalers and this proved futile.
He made soap oils, a concoction of avocado and other plant matter, but it did not work as the product was too dark.
He turned to making local engine lubricants, which the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) rejected on grounds that it had a low boiling point.
That is why Money found that part of his workshop in Nyeri has been turned into a museum of sorts.
Bottled products of his failed ventures lined the shelves: A litre of avocado oil, a tube of cypress sap, and a container of an ingredient he says he wanted to use to make soap.
“I never stopped trying. It has always been my nature to experiment on anything I think can make something,” he said.
“But I am a poor marketer; everything I produced never got to be known because I did not have contacts. I stayed with it.”
Making briquettes
The former Air Force man and father-of-four later realised that he could make money from making briquettes — rods of flammable material used for cooking as an alternative to charcoal.
It was a breakthrough that has fuelled him since.
Two things influenced this: “There were plenty of coffee husks around here and I could get them for free.
There was also a lot of sawdust which I could get at a low price here in town,” he said.
Then he watched a documentary which demonstrated how to make briquette extruders and borrowed from it.
Today his workshop churns out tens of sacks of briquettes every day which are dried in the sun, then sold to hotels.
“It is better during the dry season because it means they will dry faster — in about three days. During the cold season, it takes longer, maybe six days.”
Briquettes can be made from mixing red soil, a binder — often wax — with any of the following: Coffee husks, sawdust, cassava and banana peelings, or maize cobs.
All you need to do is mix any of these substances in the ratio of 10:1 with the binder, add some water, then mix.
The mixture is then poured on the extruder, which rolls it into short, black wet rods resembling coal. The rods are dried and used as briquettes in place of charcoal.
Earns money
Mr Ngatia also earns money selling briquette-making machines. The electric version of the machine costs Sh150,000 and a manual one goes for Sh12,000.
They are assembled from old posho mills and mortars. In a day, electronic extruders can make about 100 sacks of briquettes, each weighing 45 kilos.
Each of the sacks sells for Sh750, which is about Sh400 less than the price of ordinary charcoal.
“It is an economical source of fuel, it burns slowly and for longer, meaning you can cook the same amount of githeri for three times the amount of charcoal.
“And I am not complaining because I can afford every basic need. My children are going through school smoothly. It is a good business,” he said
It appears this kind of business is good for the environment too.
According to the Global Village Energy Partnership (GVEP) International, an organisation involved in helping communities adopt cheaper energy, briquettes are both beneficial to the environment and the users.
60 per cent less fuel
“For a person using a stove with briquettes, our analysis has shown that they can use 60 per cent less material compared to ordinary charcoal to cook the same meal and hence save about 30 per cent of the cost of cooking,” says Mr Maurice Onzere GVEP’s business development coordinator.
“This also means that the stoves save between a tonne and two tonnes of carbon emission per year.
Hence it can earn carbon credit for the enterprise that produces the briquettes.
The World Bank compensates about $16 for every tonne of carbon saved which means that this could be another source of revenue,” he adds.
Briquettes can also be made from the infamous mathenge shrub which means it could help eliminate the plant once described by communities in Baringo County as a curse.
The thorny plant that grows in arid areas, and is known scientifically as prosopis juliflora, has for many years been blamed for de-toothing livestock as well as causing long-term wounds on humans.
Six years ago, Baringo County residents sued the government, demanding compensation and accusing it of introducing the malicious plant in their area.
Animals lost teeth
They went as far as producing an affected goat in court to demonstrate the danger of the plant to their life.
The animal had lost almost all its teeth, they charged, and all was because the government accidentally planted the seeds of the plant in the area.
Mr Mwangi though is not the only one in this business. There are producers in Kariobangi in Nairobi, Busia, Mombasa and most arid areas.
His business fortunes changed four years ago when he met with GVEP officials who helped him link up with related entrepreneurs like those who sell improved stoves that can help conserve heat loss during cooking.
“What we do is to help micro-enterprises by training them on business management skills and then we guarantee half of the initial loans they borrow from financial institutions we have an arrangement with,” added Mr Onzere.
The businessmen are then linked to the sellers of stoves and during open days like trade fairs, the two types of entrepreneurs stage their wares at the same place to improve sales.
“It is easier to sell convince a buy to buy your stove because you can take briquettes and demonstrate to them how to use the stove,” said Mr Joseph Kariuki a clay stove baker from Murang’a who is also a member of the sales network.
In a country where electricity cost keeps rising, alternative sources of energy remain an option.
The problem though has been that even the alternative is expensive especially when it comes to transporting the material.
Mr Ngatia admits that most of his clients remain largely restaurant owners because most domestic users either do not know about the material or are too far to reach them at a cheaper cost.
He hopes to bank on the business network to reach more or even expand.
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