GITEGA August 28th (ABP) – Young people from Rutegama village, in Gitega commune and province (center of the country), grouped in the “Brothers, Friends of the Environment” cooperative, make braziers using river rubble to replace the charcoal, to protect the environment.
These braziers are equipped with a fan that can be operated by an electric generator either small dynamo recovered from old CD players, old radio-cassettes or a battery from a mobile phone, according to the leader of the cooperative, Mr. Didier Ndayishimiye.
Motivating the idea of manufacturing such braziers, he said that they started from the observation of deforestation for firewood purposes. Charring wood for charcoal emits greenhouse gases, causing climate change, as environmentalists say, he regretfully reported.
At the rate of a monthly production of 30 braziers, the leader of the aforesaid cooperative indicated that they collect 600 thousand BIF per month. From this amount, each member of the cooperative manages to meet basic family needs and the rest is paid into the cooperative’s bank account.
Mr. Ndayishimiye specified that nearly 100,000 BIF are currently available on the said account. This is not little, he argued, adding that the cooperative is in its infancy.
In the prospects, he indicated that the cooperative plans to make an intense awareness of the benefits of their products to the people, to State services and to national and international organizations, campaigning for the environmental protection.
The other objective will be to increase the customer base and to plead with the Burundian State or the organizations mentioned above for the financing of their projects.