{"id":25995,"date":"2025-06-19T12:41:42","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T09:41:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/barazalab.com\/?p=25995"},"modified":"2025-06-19T14:59:23","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T11:59:23","slug":"a-better-alternative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/a-better-alternative\/","title":{"rendered":"A Better Alternative"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-26085 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story8-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story8-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story8-600x401.jpg 600w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story8-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story8-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story8-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story8-650x434.jpg 650w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story8.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/span>When we talk about conservation, it sounds like a far-off vision that\u2019s decades away to us actually actualizing it. And part of the reason for that may be because we come up with somewhat complicated ways to undo the damage we have done to our environment so far, and this task becomes oh so daunting that we just revert to how we\u2019ve been living and hope that we won\u2019t be walking around with gas masks in five years.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-26086 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story4-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story4-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story4-600x401.jpg 600w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story4-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story4-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story4-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story4-650x434.jpg 650w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story4.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>But we fail to realise that everyday people are already coming up with and executing ideas around conservation. One such person is Pamela, a single mother of four who has been living in Kibera since 1988 after migrating from Western Kenya in pursuit of a better life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pamela makes charcoal briquettes. A briquette (French) is a compressed block of coal dust or other combustible biomass material (e.g., charcoal, sawdust, wood chips, peat, or paper) used for fuel and kindling to start a fire. In this case, she makes hers using red soil and charcoal dust.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-26088 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story6-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story6-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story6-600x401.jpg 600w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story6-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story6-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story6-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story6-650x434.jpg 650w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story6.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Briquettes work pretty much the same as charcoal; you light them the same way and can use them to cook; the only difference is that it\u2019s not bad for the environment, burns much slower than ordinary charcoal, so it lasts longer, and is also cheaper, with one tin of briquettes costing 30 bob as compared to one tin of charcoal, which costs between 70 and 80 bob. So good savings for your pocket too!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-26089 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story11-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story11-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story11-600x401.jpg 600w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story11-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story11-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story11-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story11-650x434.jpg 650w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story11.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Part of the reason why the price is so low is because people aren\u2019t aware of it (I am guilty of this too, and for those who do, they have assumptions and scepticisms about it- as human beings are inclined to do when something is foreign to them- so they stick to the stuff they know (makaa) and don\u2019t change the status quo.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-26087 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story5-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story5-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story5-600x401.jpg 600w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story5-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story5-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story5-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story5-650x434.jpg 650w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story5.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Most of Pamela\u2019s customers are people who cook food to sell, like githeri by the roadside, and a few people who use it at home to boil their cereals and such, some of whom don\u2019t even reside in Kibera but make the journey to come buy from her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If even more people knew about it, she would make more profit, maybe even enough to sustain herself without having to take on side gigs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So this is what her schedule looks like on a day-to-day basis; she wakes up and makes the briquettes in the morning because they need time to dry. On a good sunny day like in January, they could take between half a day and nearly a full day to dry completely.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-26090 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story3-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story3-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story3-600x401.jpg 600w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story3-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story3-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story3-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story3-650x434.jpg 650w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story3.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>On rainy days, business can be very hard because the rain either ruins the briquettes or the lack of sun means they take forever to dry, so there\u2019s no winning when the skies turn grey.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After making them, she leaves them outside her house to dry, well arranged in multiple rows, the black standing out in the sun. Then she takes on other jobs, like cleaning the SDA church that she is a member of right next door, or doing people\u2019s laundry, and then after that she sells maize. She has to do all of this in order to feed her four kids as someone who became a widow in 2012. She also lost a son to COVID-19 in 2020, so there is a fierceness in her to keep her other children safe.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-26094 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story16-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story16-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story16-600x401.jpg 600w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story16-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story16-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story16-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story16-650x434.jpg 650w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story16.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>She learnt this business from another woman in 2012 after the hardship of being a widow hit her hard. People view the work she does making the briquettes as \u2018dirty work\u2019, and some of them treat her with disdain, especially when she\u2019s in the process of making them and thus is covered with charcoal dust and red mud. But for her, money is money regardless of where it comes from, and she doesn\u2019t let the words of those who don\u2019t feed her make her sleep hungry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-26095 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story19-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story19-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story19-600x401.jpg 600w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story19-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story19-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story19-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story19-650x434.jpg 650w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story19.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She isn\u2019t the only one in Kibera who\u2019s making the briquettes; there\u2019s a few other women doing the same thing too, each with their own customers. There are no men in this business yet. They exist well with the charcoal sellers, since they boost business for them by buying the charcoal dust, which would otherwise go to waste.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She would want organisations, especially those that focus on women and\/or conservation, to come in and help. Be it with funding because sometimes affording the 200 shillings needed to buy the red soil and the 500 shillings needed to makaa is hard to come by, or with getting this business out there and getting more people to know about it and make the switch from charcoal to the briquettes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-26097 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story2-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story2-600x401.jpg 600w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story2-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story2-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story2-1536x1026.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story2-650x434.jpg 650w, https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Makaa-story2.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>On some days, she doesn\u2019t sell anything, and on a good day, she could earn 300 shillings from it. Her biggest challenge is earning enough profit so she can pump it back into the business.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hopefully this piece inspires us to approach conservation from a simpler standpoint. And see that it actually is possible to get things done and keep our environment intact. And to support small Nairobi businesses!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Written by: Makena Ngito<\/strong><\/em><br \/>\n<em><strong>Photos by: Edwin Ndeke<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When we talk about conservation, it sounds like a far-off vision that\u2019s decades away to us actually actualizing it. And part of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[158],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-humans-project"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Baraza Media Lab<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tuwele.com\/baraza_update\/a-better-alternative\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Better Alternative - Baraza Media Lab\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When we talk about conservation, it sounds like a far-off vision that\u2019s decades away to us actually actualizing it. 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