The World Bank is financing sustainable energy initiatives for women in Tanzania to learn biofuel production techniques that save them the time and money invested in wood fuel collection.
7 May 2012: The World Bank’s Gender and Energy Program for Africa has established a project in Tanzania to aid community women in finding alternative fuel solutions to save them time and money spent collecting wood for fuel.
The program focuses on the Tanzanian Government’s Rural Energy Agency (REA) training for women to sustainably increase their business profits by learning about alternative fuel solutions that use agriculture and crop residue. These residues, such as rice and cashew husks, wood shavings, coconut husks and shells, are fashioned into briquettes to replace charcoal and other wood-based fuels. REA is also expanding on its gender-sensitive project agenda by encouraging women’s groups to enter the 2012 Lighting Rural Tanzania competition. [World Bank Press Release]