Tobacco is Malawi’s largest export and the country’s primary source of hard currency. Smallholder tobacco growers that farm areas of approximately 1 hectare or less use fuelwood to ‘flue-cure’ tobacco leaves.
The Rocket Barn in Malawi is an appropriate, affordable, easy-to-build or retrofit tobacco barn that reduces wood consumption while improving the quality and quantity of produce, helping both smallholder farmers and the environment.
The Rocket Barn has reached a ‘balanced medium’ of high ‘efficiency gains’ while at the same time being affordable and using locally accessible raw materials. To facilitate widespread uptake in the region there is no need for foreign, exotic or complicated tools or parts.
Smallholder farmers, such as Thendo Kadziche in the picture, are not only seeing their yields increase from using the Rocket Barn but are also getting better prices for their production.
This Rocket Barn is achieving a 75% reduction fire wood consumption.
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Improved end-use energy efficiency household and institutional cook stoves and rocket barns