AWARD YEAR
2017
CATEGORY
Home
GOALS
Innovative Financial System
KEYWORDS
Clean Energy , social business , Empowerment
COUNTRY
Kenya
DESIGNED BY
Ian Oluoch, Tom Osborn, Green Char
WEBSITE
http://www.greenchar.org/
Green Char
Green energy sold through a social business model
GreenChar offers an economical solution to deforestation in Kenya by supplying clean fuel made from agricultural waste to community institutions. We distribute LongBurn briquettes, an alternative to firewood made from sustainable sugarcane waste, to schools, hotels, and industries. Our briquettes burn hotter and longer than wood fuels, thereby allowing our customers to reduce their cooking fuel consumption by 50%. They are also nearly smokeless, which reduces the risk of the cooks or workers contracting a respiratory illness or infection and also keeps kitchens clean and soot-free.
EcoKiosk is Greenchar’s revolutionary new model of increasing access and awareness to low income communities about affordable, clean cooking fuel.
Our approach is to train local women and youth on financial literacy, marketing and sales and then empower them to start their own distribution networks. This approach provides them with a path out of poverty.