Shimoni Environmental Association (SEA)

Today I am going to introduce you to another of the CBOs I am working with, and with I am hoping to achieve great things. They are called Shimoni Environmental Association (SEA), and it’s an initiative mainly of the teachers of the Shimoni Primary School and some other members of the community. They are also pretty concerned about the conservation of their environment and, more particularly, about the sustainable use of resources.

Basically, their main objective is the eradication, to the maximum feasible degree, of charcoal production from logging in the forest. For that, they have researched and developed an alternative form of charcoal, made with coconut shells, grass, ashes, saw-dust and other recycled ingredients, which they mix, press and (try to) shell in the form of small blocks. The process to develop the recipe for this product was not easy, but the result was fairly successful: an environment-friendly fuel that, even if not carbon-neutral (these communities cannot afford that luxury) releases less smoke than traditional charcoal, hence being less damaging to people’s health. As the members of the association work on it voluntarily, and the ingredients are free to obtain, the final product is fairly competitive as regards traditional charcoal.

However, the process to collect, mix and, particularly, press the materials is hard and time-consuming, and the teachers that form the bulk of the association lack of the necessary time. Our next steps are clear: trying to simplify the process or develop a more efficient press that makes the process easier and faster. Also, more demonstrations, outreach and awareness-raising occupy an important place on our agenda.

In the long term, the ideal scenario would be involve the charcoalers and try to make this activity efficient enough to them to abandon the traditional charcoal in favor of this new alternative. There’s already a charcoaler n the lines of SEA, but as this is an illegal activity, most times the charcoalers are difficult to approach, as they won’t recognize their activities, making our outreach a little more difficult.

In any case, I will keep you updated of our news and achievements!