Charles, 38 (a local, son of a geologist who works in the volcano Nyiragongo) was one of the guys who I really enjoyed working with while training in Rumangabo, had loads of energy and showed huge commitment to this project. He told us he had been testing the fuel briquettes with his stove (local mbabula), the same one he uses with charcoal.

So we told Charles to bring over his mbabula and lighted up 3 fuel briquettes. He used a tiny bit of charcoal to start them up, by placing it inside the briquette’s hole. They rapidly gave the flame and heat, but also a lot of smoke. So we then moved the same briquettes to our improved stove version (a metal bucket) and showed them how controlled air can stop the smoke and concentrate the heat better.