Bio-Char Factory Opens in Cambodia

A Cambodian woman makes use of “charbriquettes” made from coconut husks. The fuel is a cleaner substitute for the wood and charcoal that are traditionally used. (Simon Marks)

January 4, 2010
By SIMON MARKS
New York Times

Cambodia opened its first biomass “charbriquette” factory in Phnom Penh last month, an enterprise that will produce fuel for stoves from waste biomass material.

The factory, a venture backed by Geres and For a Child’s Smile, two French organizations active in Cambodia’s development community, aims to reduce demand for wood and charcoal that 80 percent of Cambodians use every day to cook and boil water.

“Climate change and global warming are serious issues these days,” said Yohanes Iwan Baskoro, Cambodia country director for Geres. The factory, Mr. Baskoro said, “will save about 1,600 tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere” every year.

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