Robert here. I want to share some more about the discovery process that has been going on with alternative fuels program. Our network of contacts in the world of alternative fuel and stove technologies has grown exponentially thanks to an international group of great people who are openly sharing their ideas, in hopes of ending deforestation, helping the rest of the species that share the planet with us — and helping people. The Legacy Foundation has been the common denominator in all of this. They have graciously welcomed us into their community and as a result, we have been in touch with some incredibly helpful people. Last week started with an hour Skype conversation with Crispin, the head of New Dawn Engineering in Swaziland. Richard at the Legacy Foundation had alerted the alternative fuels community to the problems Virginia was having with smoking briquettes and Crispin jumped right in with suggestions. He, in turn, passed the alert on to an even larger group. As a result of that email, later in the day, I had three exchanges with George in Gambia who offered his advice, too. Then on Monday, Richard of the Legacy Foundation invited me to come to Portland, Oregon for three days of training. He went to the trouble of contacting the two groups that hired him to do the seminar and asked if “a guy who is trying to help the mountain gorillas” could join them. Both groups gave a resounding “yes”. My tuition? Cook a meal for the group. Being a foodie, it feels like they are letting me off easy. Come May 22-24, I’ll be hanging out with these folks and learning all that I possibly can. So, instead of being all alone in our search for new technologies, we have a global community of experts willing to help. The importance of this support can’t be overstated. Aside from the obvious benefits of so much intellectual capital (and new friends), personally, it makes me feel as though I am living up to my fiduciary responsibility to those of you who have donated funds to this program. You can rest assured that we are not shooting from hip, but rather carefully researching the best ways to invest your hard earned money. And, through all of this research and collaboration, the way forward is beginning to come into focus. Donations: Thank you Alex P. for your $50.00 contribution!
Hello all, this is Robert. Amidst all the terribly disturbing news about the elephant massacre in the park and the continued burning of the Virunga forests for illegal charcoal, there actually is some good news. First off, I want to thank those of you that donated your hard earned money to help us this month: Carrie A. $100, Carmen E. $40 and our anonymous donor who contributed $50. Thank you!! BSH - WildlifeDirect Alliance Protos Stove Training We will also be spending a significant amount of time with the local villagers using the stoves on a day-to-day basis, in hopes of getting those critical pieces of advice that only come from those who are using the stoves in a real-world, rural setting. Biomass Briquettes as a Charcoal Alternative
Laying out the grid for the piston cylinder holes which let water exit during pressing
Drilling the first holes. Only 210 to go…
The finished press. The piston and cylinder gets placed on the bottom beam. The Briquette Challenges Ahead Another issue is output. Although a single press with 6 workers can put out 1000 briquettes per day, we will have to find a way to increase production to the point of being able to compete with charcoal. I have been sending out all sorts of inquiries and doing Google searches, trying to find a more automated way to produce the briquettes. And, although I haven’t found anyone mass producing briquettes yet, the inquiries have led me to many of the experts in the field of briquetting and high-efficiency stoves. Today, for example, I spoke with people at the University of Colorado Engineering School who are working in this area. In fact, a group of them is leaving for Nepal tomorrow to head up a briquette and stove project in Eastern Nepal. I also spoke with someone at Colorado State University’s Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory. Among projects like creating biofuel from algae, they are also working on high-efficiency stoves for developing countries. And, of course, the Legacy Foundation and it’s network of briquetters and stove makers continues to provide invaluable guidance. With minds like this working the issue, I can’t help but be optimistic amidst the recent rash of bad news.
This is Augustin Kambale. Last Monday, I led a patrol on the south side of Nyiragongo with 10 men. It was an “out and back” patrol, meaning we left early and came back the same day. Spending the night would have been too risky because we had heard that the FDLR militias were operating in the area, protecting the network of illegal charcoal kilns. This was the first patrol in Shahero in quite some time because the Interhamwe (FLDR) presence has been too strong. The Interhamwe, for those of you that don’t know, are made up of extremist Hutus, the band credited with the Rwandan genocide in 1994. We left our camp at 5 am and climbed the slopes of Mt. Nyiragongo. By 7 am, at an altitude of 2850 meters, we found a large deforested area, the obvious site of illegal charcoal production. The tip-off we received about the kilns proved to be true. We found 70 kilns burning and 10 sacks of charcoal staged and ready for transportation. In the following hours, we destroyed all 70 kilns, seized 10 hoes, burned 2 make-shift camps, and apprehended two kiln workers. It was because our patrol started so early that we didn’t catch more workers. The majority were not back yet from spending the weekend in Goma, where they go to re-supply and relax. The charcoal “bosses” in Goma are the ones who pay these men to go into the park to make illegal charcoal. These workers are paid an average of 1US $ per day to cut trees, make kilns, and to burn and put the charcoal into sacks. Once the charcoal is ready (normally it is a 6-day process), the bosses hire people as “mules” to transport the charcoal from the Virunga NP to Goma city. They don’t cross Kibati checkpoint to reach Goma any more because of all the recent seizures of illegal charcoal. Instead, they use a footpath far to the south-west. One look at the area makes it apparent that charcoal production in this area is rampant. Now that we know the FDLR isn’t operating in the Shahero area, we need to step up our patrols to shut down all the illegal activity. We must protect the vulnerable flora and fauna in the area.
Destroying a charcoal kiln
Augustin Kambale destroying a kiln
Trees cut down to make yet another illegal kiln
What was once beautiful forest is now moon scape
The camp site of a kiln worker
Kiln workers being arrested
Enquiries lead by Congolese Wilidlife Authority ICCN has established that the six elephant poachers caught Sunday were not FDLR as I wrote. They are local villagers hired by some corrupted Congolese Army Officers. They are from Kibirizi, a village at 15 km in the Western side of Rwindi, the ICCN HQ of the central sector of Virunga National Park. The one in yellow T-Shirt is the shooter.
local villagers from Kibirizi who shot elephant
They shot the elephant just 200 m near a position of the FARDC in Kahunga. Being in the forest, they didn’t realize that they were just near an Army position. That is the reason they were caught. The total number of elephants killed might be more than 14 because some elephants shot far in the bush couldn’t be recorded. In the central sector, ICCN has lost the control of large Mammals habitat occupied by FDLR-Interahamwe (Rwandan Militias). Also, two brigades of the Army (9th and 15th) are deployed in that sector. In these conditions, wildlife rangers have problems to put an end to this poaching. The poachers are still in the hands of the 9th Brigade in Rwindi. Conservationists should keep a close eye to make sure the poachers are prosecuted. Tusks have been collected by ICCN HQ in Goma.
This is Ephrem. During the last two weeks, the Virunga National Park has lost 14 elephants and 2 hippos as recorded below. All the park has been affected especially the central sector: Rwindi and Rutshuru where 12 elephants have been recorded. The main responsible of this killing are Rwanda militias (FDLR): 5 elephants, Congolese militias (PARECO): 3 elephants and Congolese soldiers (FARDC): 5. A Congolese high Commander has recently told to soldiers that poaching is a crime that is going to be severely punished.
Sunday afertnoon, while coming from Beni with WCS’s vehicle, we met at Mabenga checkpoint a FARDC and rangers joint patrol coming from the forest. They have just arrested 6 Rwandan militias who killed an elephant near their positions of Kahunga. Unfortunatly , it wasn’t possible to take a picture. These men have been transfered at Rwindi, the ICCN HQ of the central sector of Virunga National Park. they should be prosecuted. There is an increase of ivory demand that is a solid incentive of looting elephants in the park. The networks are in the DRC as well as in the neighbouring countries. In Bujumbura, some dealers are paying more than US$ 50 /kg. Congolese Park Authority is facing many difficulties to put an end to this poaching.
At Kibati Patrol Post, rangers are discovering different means to escape the control. If the common mean are trucs, there is another insolite mean people are using now: paralytic’s bike.
Paralytics are now hired to cross the checkpoint with charcoal. This one on the photo has crossed many times with 2 sacs on his bike. He earns US $ 10 per sac he can manage to deliver to people in Goma. These are only transportation fees to cross the checkpoint. Rangers used to tolerate him before they discovered the network behind his traffic. But traders still believe that it’s possible to cross with a military truck. Here’s one recently seized with charcoal.
As pointed out in the gorilla protection blog, the checkpoints have yielded approximately 80 tons of illegal charcoal coming out of Virunga NP. These checkpoints have also proved effective in interdicting illegal bushmeat.
Bushmeat hidden amongst a load of produce Like illegal charcoal, the bushmeat trade has a wide variety of players, both in the forest and in the marketplace. Among the more well-known, are soldiers that often run loads of bushmeat together with illegal charcoal. Women try to smuggle out smaller quantities on foot. The checkpoints are now becoming the #1 way to intercept bushmeat.
Sad end: elephant, buffalo, hippo, and antelope intercepted before making it to Goma
Unusual find: Fresh bushmeat — usually it is smoked before being transported In the city of Goma, the bushmeat trade isn’t an officially recognized trade, but regardless, it is a flourishing informal one. Women sell bushmeat door to door, calling on a well-established clientele comprised of households, restaurants — even offices. This somewhat clandestine approach to selling makes it difficult to crack the bushmeat rings in Goma. For now though, it is a good sign that the larger shipments are being stopped at the checkpoints. Small amounts can easily be smuggled around these checkpoints, but at least the new charcoal interdiction measures are constricting the bushmeat trade.
A follow-up post by Ephrem:
Checkpoint: One of the few military trucks still trying to pass through with charcoal Who has been affected by the new charcoal interdiction efforts? Those in the commodity chain:
Who are the big losers?
Latest report from Ephrem: Local politicians in Goma question the crackdown ————————————–
Scan of the letter sent by Butondo to Provincial Minister of Environment, Ndoole This is our translation to English:
Please give this your utmost attention your Excellence, and know that it is my patriotism that causes me to bring this to your attention. -Honorable Butonto Nzangi Response from the Provincial Minister of the Environment
In my last post, I talked about all of the various stuff or “residues” that can be used to make briquettes — to replace illegal forest charcoal. Although there are definitely some nuances to making a good briquette, it seems pretty feasible. But what about building the press itself? We are looking into the feasibility of bringing briquette making to the displaced peoples camps and elsewhere in the Congo, but really don’t have a good feeling for what it takes to build a briquette press, so I decided to try and build one. I figure that by building a press, I’ll better understand the challenges that will be faced by those trying to do the same in Congo. Armed with a press building manual from the Legacy Foundation, I headed to the lumber yard to buy my materials. Getting the materials Measuring and cutting
Cheating: Using a power saw and drill instead of a hand saw and manual drill Preserving the wood
Oiled and ready to be put together Putting the puzzle together
So far, so good… Next steps
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