Eco charcoal in Tanzania Note: This project has been cancelled, because the applicant didn't have enough confidence in future prospectives.For cooking purposes Tanzania's population is largely dependent on charcoal. The production of charcoal mainly results from wood from illegal cutting of trees. This leads to a high level of deforestation in the country. The aim of this project is to establish an ecologically friendly charcoal factory using a twin retort system. The Twin Retort system is a semi-continuous production module, with a capacity of 900 tons of charcoal and 270 tons of charcoal dust (in the form of briquettes) per year. In each of the two retorts a vessel with fresh wood is to be placed alternately. Carbonisation of 1 vessel usually takes about 12 hours.When one vessel has reached the carbonisation temperature (about 900°C), thermal decomposition takes place, and pyrolysis gasses are emitted from the vessel. These gasses are combusted in-situ to provide the heat supply for heating up the other vessel. This way, no external energy source is needed after start-up. The used wood will be FSC certified.The production efficiency of the traditional method producing charcoal can be as low that 8 to 15 kg wood will lead to only 1 kg of charcoal. With the Twin Retort system, charcoal can be produced far more efficiently as only 3.3 kg of wood is needed to produce 1 kg of charcoal. The major sales market of the produced charcoal will be the towns of Arusha and Moshi about 80 km from the production site.The applicant in this project is the Dutch registered company Fresh Food Technology BV which will establish a joint venture with the local Tanzanian partner Rotiana Farm Ltd. "Stichting Het Groene Woudt", a corporate foundation is the third project partner. This project is the first initiative in Tanzania to produce charcoal in a environmentally sustainable way making use of the Twin Retort System. The factory will be located in the Simanjiro district on the Rotiana Farm.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)• RSI and SHGW have a Human Resource Manual based on the Dutch labour laws and the partners will apply this on the project as well.• Safety regulations and instructions will form an essential part of this project because the employees will have to work with heavy equipment and very high production temperatures. The safety regulations will be implemented vigorously.• All employees will receive a working contract with health insurance and pension scheme.• A credit and saving system will be established for the employees as well as a social fund for calamities.• 74% of the employees will be female, including the management of the factory.• The charcoal will be FSC certified.Impact•	Employment and working conditionsIn total 34 full-time employees will be employed by the end of the pilot project. Two of these jobs are on a high (management) level, 10 on medium-level, and the remaining 22 on basic-level. Good working conditions will be assured by respecting working hours per day and by providing adequate clothing and safety equipment to the employees, also free lunch will be provided. The salaries will be at least 20% above the minimum wages.•	Innovation / Transfer of knowledgeThe most important knowledge which will be transferred is the production of eco charcoal with the use of the twin retort system. This process requires a deep understanding of the charcoaling process and constant monitoring of the production process is required as exact temperatures have to be maintained.•	Chain effectsThe most important chain effect is that this project can set an example for the country on how charcoal can be produced on a sustainable environmentally friendly way. At least in the direct surroundings of this project deforestation because of charcoal production will be diminished. This project is located in a very remote area of the country at least 100 km away from the nearest serious settlement. The expectation is that the charcoal will be sold to traders. These traders will sell the charcoal most probably in the nearest towns Arusha and Moshi. The traders are responsible for the transport of the charcoal to the markets.•	EnvironmentThis project will have a positive effect on the environment. The production of eco charcoal requires far less wood than the traditional production process. Furthermore, cooperation will be sought with the local authorities to prevent the illegal cutting of trees for the production of traditional charcoal in the region. Compared to the traditional charcoal production processes, the Twin Retort system is very low on emissions.•	Position of womenThe impact on the position of women will be positive. In total 25 out of the 34 employees will be women, which is 74% of the total workforce. The goal of this project is to establish an ecologically friendly charcoal factory with a capacity of 1,170 tons of eco charcoal and charcoal briquettes per year in the Simanjiro district.