Lilongwe, Malawi … It has not been an easy problem to grasp, nor one with an easy solution, but it is no secret. Malawi is fast running out of trees! The land of giant forests and comprehensive tree conservation in the 1960’s has moved to where mountains are fast growing bare, and villages sit on bare land naked of shelter. This problem has been compounded by a population that has grown from approximately 4 million in 1964 to over 20 million today. It has been compounded through increased stripping of giant tracts of land for wood export. While the government is doing what it can to reforest the nation, trees only grow so fast and the pressure for more and more wood is ever increasing.
While visiting Malawi late in 2022, Malawi Project board member Dan Brewer saw the problem first-hand of how Malawi women must walk farther and farther each morning to obtain enough firewood for their cooking fires. Where trees used to surround the villages, the people now must walk several kilometers to get enough wood for their day’s needs.
Brewer was not satisfied with what he saw, he returned to the states determined to develop a solution. He immediately started working on a Fire Brick that would need no tree limbs to start the morning cooking fires, nor would it require walking long distances to cut limbs for the fires. Dan conducted several experiments in his Arkansas home where he and his wife operate a Bed and Breakfast establishment. He appeared to be on to something.
Reaching the point in his research where the bricks needed field testing in Malawi, Dan sent some of the bricks to Malawi in mid-May. They worked! A meal could be cooked using only the Fire Bricks, a starter tube, and a match.
Now will come the second tests in July for various weather conditions and ease of starting. If they pass this second test small scale production is expected to begin later in the year.
Dan is pleased with the results so far and is cautiously optimistic of where this is headed. He observes, “From this first test that proves we can cook a single meal to large scale production and village acceptance of the Fire Bricks can be a long and winding road. While I am pleased with our progress to date, I know it will still take time to reach a place where this form of cooking fire will be accepted for widespread use in Malawi.”