Ugandan Activist Turns Shea Waste into Clean Energy, Empowering Women

In northern Uganda, the beloved shea tree, known locally as moyao, is disappearing at an alarming rate, largely due to charcoal production. Lucy Everlyn Atim, a climate activist, returned home to find her favorite childhood tree gone, a loss mirrored across the region.

Uganda loses an estimated 122,000 hectares of forest annually, primarily for charcoal and logging. With about 90 percent of households depending on charcoal for cooking, indigenous species like the shea tree are under severe threat. Research from Makerere University indicates a significant decline in mature shea tree populations on fallow land over the past decade.

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The destruction of shea trees is alarming. These trees need to be protected, but people also need an alternative source of fuel.

"The destruction of shea trees is alarming," Atim told Al Jazeera. "These trees need to be protected, but people also need an alternative source of fuel." While tracking the exact decline is challenging due to charcoal producers uprooting entire trees, the trend is clear: indigenous flora is diminishing.

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I got curious. I knew this was something that could be replicated back home.

Inspired by a woman in South Sudan making fuel briquettes from discarded shea husks, Atim founded the Moyao Africa Initiative in 2023. The social enterprise transforms shea waste into fuel briquettes and empowers women by helping them earn a living from processing shea butter. The initiative currently employs six staff and collaborates with over 1,200 women organized in savings groups.

"In most households, women carry the burden of finding cooking fuel," Atim explained. "By training them to make and sell briquettes and shea butter, we're creating an income while providing an affordable alternative to charcoal." The initiative actively trains women in Alebtong district on the process of collecting husks, crushing them, mixing with binders like clay and cassava flour, molding, drying, and storing the briquettes.

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In most households, women carry the burden of finding cooking fuel. By training them to make and sell briquettes and shea butter, we're creating an income while providing an affordable alternative to charcoal.