USING CHARCOAL IN MALAWI

KUGWIRITSA NTCHITO MAKALA KU MALAWI

Energy is one of the major challenges that Malawi has been facing for a long time. In a country of close to 20 million people, research has it that only 10% of the population has access to electricity which is the main source of energy. This means that approximately only 2 million people have access to electricity in the country. A good number of this 10% find electricity bills to be very expensive. This has led to Malawians to look for alternative sources of energy one of them being Charcoal (Makala).

Mphanvu zophikila ndi kuunikila ndi vuto limodzi limene a Malawi akhala akukumana nalo kwa nthawi yayitali. Mu dziko la anthu pafupifupi 20 million, kafuku amaonetsa kuti anthu okwana 2 million ndi amene ali ndi kuthekela kogwilitsa ntchito mphanvu ya magetsi. Mwa anthu ambiri amene amagwiritsa ntchito magetsi amaona kuti kugwilitsa ntchito magetsi kumafunika ndalama zambiri. Izi zimapangitsa kuti a Malawi ambiri asake njira zina zomwe angagwilitse ntchito pophika monga makala.

In simple terms, Charcoal is a black solid that is formed when wood is burned slowly. It is made by cutting down a tree, cutting it into a reasonable log. These logs are then buried and burnt to a certain degree to create the black solid we call charcoal. Most Malawians depend on charcoal to cook their food. The demand for charcoal has created an opportunity for other Malawians to venture into the charcoal selling business. Although making and selling charcoal is not allowed in the country, some people especially those from the rural areas take the risk to make and sell charcoal since they want to earn a living for their families. A bag of charcoal costs around K2500 – K7000 ($3.00 – $8.00) depending on the area it is being sold. For example, in Lilongwe a bag would cost around U$8.00 while in Mangochi a lakeshore district in Malawi it costs around $3.00. Families that depend on selling charcoal are mostly those that leave below the poverty line of one dollar a day.

Makala amapangidwa pamene mtengo waotchedwa pang’onopang’ono. Makala amakhala akuda komanso olimba ndipo amapangidwa mtengo ukadulidwa muzidutsa zidutswa. Zidutsa zimenezi amazikwilila ndipo zimaotchedwa pang’onopang’ono kupanga makala. A Malawi ambiri amagwiritsa ntchito makala pophika zakudya zawo. Kufunika kwa makala kudapereka mwayi kwa anthu ena kuti ayambe kugulitsa makala. Ngakhale kuotcha ndi kugulitsa makala ndi zoletsedwa M’malawi, anthu ena kweni kweni a kumudzi amachita u kadziotche pootcha ndi kugulitsa makala kuti apeze ndalama komanso chakudya. Thumba la makala limatha kugulitsidwa pa mtengo wa K2500 mpaka K7000 kutengela dela limene makalawa akugulitsidwa. Mwachitsanzo thumba la makala limagulitsidwa pa mtengo wa K7000 mu boma la Lilongwe pamene m’boma la Mangochi limagulitsidwa pa mtengo wa K2500. Mwa mabanja amene amadalila kugulitsa makala ambiri amakhala mabanja ovutika.

It is mostly the man who leaves the house late at night or very early in the morning with two or three bags of charcoal on his bicycle heading for the urban areas to sell bags of charcoal. Night time is the best time to travel in order to avoid law authorities who confiscate charcoal. Later in the day these men head home with half a bag of maize which will be food for their families for that day. On a bad day, these men can return home empty handed because their bags of charcoal and bicycles have been confiscated by law enforcers since charcoal selling is not allowed. This means that a whole family might have to spend a day without food. This is a cycle of life for these families.

Nthawi zambiri ndi a bambo amene amachoka pakhomo usiku kapena mbandakucha atanyamula matumba awiri kapena atatu a makala kupita ku mizinda ya ku tawuni kukagulitsa makala. Usiku ndi wabwino kuyenda chifukwa kumakhala kosavuta kuthawa a chitetezo amene amalanda makala. Cha ku madzulo azibambowa amapita kunyumba ndi kathumba ka chimanga chimene chimakhala chakudya cha tsiku limenelo. Likakhala tsiku silinayende bwino azibambo amatha kubwelera kunyumba opanda kali konse atalandidwa makala komanso njinga ndi a chitetezo. Izi zimatanthauza kuti banja limatha kugona opanda chakudya tsiku limenelo. Umu ndi mmene moyo wa tsiku ndi tsiku umakhalila kwa mabanja amenewa.

Others have adopted charcoal selling as a small household business. Women are the ones who are mostly involved in such businesses. They sell a bag of charcoal and repackage it into small plastic bags which are sold at a minimal and affordable price. These kinds of small businesses provide a small income for families to buy food for the day.

Anthu ena amapanga business yogulitsa makala ngati malonda a pakhomo. Azimayi ambiri ndi amene amapanga malonda amenewa. Amagula thumba la makala ndikuyika makala m’majumbo ang’ono ang’ono amene amagulitsidwa pa mtengo wotsika. Malonda ngati amenewa amathandiza mabanja kupeza ndalama yogulila chakudya.

The use of charcoal as an alternative for electricity has led to a huge environmental challenge. Many trees have been cut down to make charcoal and this has left a lot of land bare and exposed to soil erosion. Land has lost its fertility leading to low harvests of crops and few feeds for livestock. The cutting down of trees has also led to a change of weather and climate in many areas. Some areas are experiencing a lot of heat while others experience little rains than normal. There are also heavy rains leading to flooding. All this is happening as a long-term effect of deforestation.

Kugwiritsa ntchito makala mmalo mwa mphanvu za magetsi kwayika chilengedwe pachiopsezo. Mitengo yambiri yadulidwa chifukwa chofuna kuotcha makala zimenezi zapangitsa kuonongeka kwa nthaka. Izinso zapangitsa kuti nthaka ikhale yopanda chonde zimene zapangitsa kuti anthu azikolola chakudya chochepa komaso chakudya cha ziweto chizikhala chochepa. Kudula mitengo kwapangitsanso kusintha kwa nyengo. Madela ena akumakumana ndi nyengo yotentha kwambiri pamene m’madela ena mukumagwa mvula yochepa. Madela enanso akumalandila mvula yochuluka kwambiri imene ikumapangitsa kusefukila kwa madzi. Izi zikuchitika ngati zotsatila zodula mitengo.

An ironical picture of a tree supporting a bag of charcoal. It might happen that one day this tree will be cut down to make another bag of charcoal. As much as charcoal making poses a threat to trees and forests, it also poses a danger to human life. As charcoal is burning, it produces a lot of smoke and because of this cooking using a charcoal burner is mostly done outside. However especially during winter some people take a charcoal burner inside the house in order to heat up a room. This leads to a number of deaths because charcoal produces carbon monoxide when burning and when people inhale this air for some time, they end up suffocating. It is highly advised that one should use a charcoal burner outside of the house at all costs in order to avoid such kind of deaths.

Chithunzichi chikuonetsa thumba la makala litatsamila mtengo. Zitha kudzatheka kuti tsiku lina mtengo umenewu utha kudzadulidwa pofuna kupanga makala. Pamene kuotcha makala kumayika pachiopsezo pa mitengo ndi nkhalango, kumapelekanso chiopsezo pa moyo wa anthu. Makala akamayaka amatulutsa utsi wambiri choncho kuphikila pa makala kumachitikila panja pa nyumba. Nthawi zina zimachitika anthu kutenga mbaula ndi kulowa nayo mnyumba kwambiri mu nyengo yozizila ndi cholinga chofuna kutentha. Izi zimapangitsa kuti anthu ena ataye moyo wawo chifukwa makala amatulutsa mpweya wa carbon monoxide umene munthu akawupuma kwa nthawi yayitali amabanika. Anthu amalimbikitsidwa kugwilitsa ntchito mbaula panja nthawi zonse ndi cholinga chofuna kupewa imfa za mtundu umenewu.

Scenery beauty is another area that has suffered by the use of charcoal. Some of the mountains that were ever green and were homes to a lot of natural trees and animals are now bald with few shrubs and trees.
Government has tried to reduce the use of charcoal by banning the selling of charcoal, but it seems the situation is at a point of no return. This is mostly because there is a huge demand for charcoal both in rural and urban areas. This high demand for charcoal is one of the factors that motivates charcoal sellers to continue with the business. Another effort that is being done is to promote the planting of trees in order to replace the forests that have been lost due to charcoal production. This is a good initiative, but it does not really stop the destruction that is already done on the environment due to charcoal production.

Kungongola kwa chilengedwe nakonso kwaonongeka chifukwa cha kugwilitsa ntchito makala. Mapiri ambiri amene anali obiliwila komaso malo amene mumapezeka mitengo ndi nyama zachilengedwe pano adayela komanso ali ndi zomela komaso mitengo yochepa.｝
Boma lakhala likuyesetsa kuchepetsa nchitidwe ogwilitsa ntchito makala poletsa kugulitsa makala koma zikuoneka kuti ndizovuta kuti nchitidwewu uthe. Izi zili chonchi chifukwa makala ndi ofunikila kwambiri mmadela a kumudzi komanso mma tawuni. Kufunika kwa makala mmadelawa ndi chinthu chimodzi chimene chimalimbikitsa anthu ogulitsa makala kuti azipitiliza kupanga malondawa. Chinthu china chimene chikupangidwa ndi kulimbikitsa kudzala mitengo ndicholinga chofuna kubwezeletsa nkhalango zimene zidaonongeka chifukwa cha kuotcha makala. Ichi ndi chinthu chabwino ngakhale sichikuthetselatu chionongeko chimene chidachitika chifukwa cha kuotcha makala.

Different initiatives have been put in place in order to provide people with alternative sources of energy such as solar power and gas. However, for people in rural areas solar only plays a role in lighting up the house at night and not cooking. Mostly they use small solar lamps for lighting when it comes to cooking its either firewood or charcoal. The use of gas and solar power for cooking is still a challenge in urban areas since most people consider these alternatives to be expensive. Another initiative that has been put in place to reduce the use of charcoal is the use of clean cook pots (chitetezo mbaula). These are a type of burners that use heat efficiently when cooking. These cooking pots use firewood (Nkhuni) instead of charcoal. There is more that can be done in order to reduce the use of charcoal and protect trees and the nature of Malawi.

Njira zosiyana siyana zidakhazikitsidwa ndi cholinga chofuna kuwapatsa anthu mwayi ogwiritsa ntchito mphanvu ya dzuwa komanso gasi. Komabe kwa anthu ambiri okhala kumudzi mphanvu ya dzuwa imagwilitsidwa ntchito powunikila usiku osati kuphikila. Nthawi zambiri anthu amagwilitsila nyali za mphanvu ya dzuwa pofuna kuphikila koma nthawi yophika amagwilitsa ntchito nkhuni kapena makala. Kugwilitsa ntchito gasi kapena mphanvu ya dzuwa pophikila kumafunikaso ndalama zambiri mmadela a mmatauni. Njira ina imene inakhazikitsidwa pofuna kuchepetsa kugwilitsa ntchito makala ndi kugwilitsa ntchito chitetezo mbaula. Uwu ndi mtundu wa mbaula umene umagwilitsa ntchito moto moyenelela nthawi yophika. Chitetezo mbaula imagwilitsa ntchito nkhuni osati makala. Zilipo zambiri zimene tingapange pofuna kuchepetsa kugwilitsa ntchito makala ndi kuteteza mitengo komanso chilengedwe cha Malawi.