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One of NETIF’s main objectives is conservation of
the environment. Under this objective falls the need
to help manage and maintain deforestation in our
National Parks. The underlying problem is the
cutting of trees for firewood by villagers.
Villagers rely heavily on firewood taken from the
National Parks to use for cooking food, heating and
making items like Raski (local rice wine) which they
sell. Some villagers even cut down trees to sell for
firewood, thus supplementing their income.
The problem of deforestation contains two areas that
need to be fixed to provide the villagers with an
alternative to cutting down trees.
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Firstly there is the need to provide a
cheap and practical alternative energy
to firewood |
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Secondly there is the need to provide
the villagers with alternate means of
income other than the production of
Raski and the sale of fire wood. |
NETIF has taken the incentive to train the villagers
in the making of Briquettes. Briquettes are a
practical, sustainable, cheap and easy to make fuel
that has multi uses.
Benefits and potential of Briquettes
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Made from local grasses which are unused
in farming and more readily renewable
than trees (grass is one of the fastest
regenerating plants on the planet) |
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Each Briquette provides two hours of
burning energy at a high heat |
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They can be used for cooking, lighting
and heating |
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They do not use chemicals, are 100%
organic and produce no smell or smoke
thus eliminating health problems
associated with smoke in closed kitchens |
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Briquettes can also be produced for sale
purposes providing a source of income
for villagers |
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Local hotels and tourism establishments
can buy briquettes to use in outdoor
BBQ’s, cooking and heating thus adding
to their environmentally sustainable
tourism practices |
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Each Briquette costs around 14 nrs to
produce making a cost effective product |
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They are easy to make, all products are
local and easily obtained |
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Special heating stoves are available to
use Briquettes for heating and cooking
purposes |
So far NETIF has given numerous training sessions to
villages throughout the project area including
Nagarkot, Chisapani, Dhulikhel and Mulkharka. Each
village has been given by NETIF three sets of the
tools to produce the briquettes at the cost of 5000
nrs each. Now that the training has been given and
the villagers have the knowhow and tools to make the
briquettes, NETIF has also employed a liaison
officer who will act on our behalf. The job of the
liaison office, who is an expert in the field of
Briquette making is to visit the villagers and help
them with the production, give advice and help solve
problems associated with the making and using of
Briquettes. NETIF is hoping to give the villagers
the motivation to make the change from firewood by
building this support network which NETIF’s sees as
one of the most important parts to the ongoing
success of the project.
NETIF’s hope is that the villagers in the project
area will produce Briquettes for use themselves and
also as marketable sale item to provide them with
income. The project has the greatest value in that
NETIF hopes it will ultimately eliminate the
villager’s dependence on firewood and put an end to
tree cutting in the National Park and buffer zones.
Deforestation has a solution and at NETIF we think
Briquette production is a powerful step in the right
direction to a cleaner greener future.
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