This Charcoal Is Made Out of Plant Waste

An entrepreneur in Benin came up with a way to help curb deforestation in West Africa. Roland Adjovi’s business takes agricultural waste such as maize husks and coconut shells, burns them into a carbonized powder and compresses this powder into briquettes. They’re less polluting than standard charcoal and the ash can be used as a fertilizer. Adjovi says he was inspired to start Eco Sika after seeing charcoal trucks leaving the forest.