Cambodia made charcoals from coconut shells

Cambodian produces waste from coconut shells as environmental charcoal

Environment protection and environment conservation with sustainable development have been paid attention widely in the present context of the world to prevent and contribute to the climate change. With these problems, Cambodian government as well as the civil organizations and other stakeholders have been working very hard to contribute dealing with the environment protections.

At the same time, it has many mechanisms and ways to tackle the environmental issues and develop the country with sustainability in using the natural resources as we have seen currently t protect the environment and with these activities, it has been noticed indirect and direct ways that have conducted so far to deal the environment issues.

The renewable energy is one of kinds of the modern ways in using the natural resources and it could save the environment effectively. Currently, Cambodia has enterprise to refine the waste of the coconut shells and peels in Phnom Penh city to turn as charcoal to cook food for the local people, namely, Sustainable Green Fuel Enterprise (SGFE) locating at the outskirts of Phnom Penh. This enterprise initiated the local organization Geres and smile children organization with the support from French embassy to Cambodia.
Ly Math Heat, executive director of SGFE told SEAW that we have the concern about the waste in Phnom Penh city and it has been increased every day. “We need to recycle the waste with what forms. I and other experts from stakeholders and especially French experts have come up with the ways to refine the waste from coconut shell and peels as environmental charcoal,” he said.

We called environmental charcoal because it does create the smoke that could affect the environment during burning and we see the very less smoke while we fired to cook food, he noted. We have other experts to monitor regularly about the smoke from this charcoal to the levels that the housewife does not need to wash the smoke at the bottom of the pot or kettle or food cooking materials, he said. Ly Math Heat graduated from Indonesia in the master degree of energy engineering.
We have concerned about the waste from agricultural sector in Phnom Penh like waste of fresh coconut shells and peels after drinking and eating and where the waste goes after they sold,” he stresses. At the same time, most sellers of the coconut product have met the difficulties to throw away the coconut shells and peels. This enterprise is contributing to help the waste management and recycle a part of waste in Phnom Penh, he added.

He explained that currently, the products from the forestry are reducing every year and the forest product produced as charcoal also has been reduced after the environmental protection of the forest has been tightening as we have known generally, he said, adding that even the number of sellers of the charcoal from forestry also reduced. Cutting the forest to produce as charcoal is destroying the product of forest and affected to the shelters of the wild animal and biodiversity of the environment in the country,” he stresses.