Posted March 9, 2026.
In Madagascar and other low-income countries, charcoal and firewood are still the dominant cooking fuels. But traditional charcoal has major drawbacks:
Producing traditional charcoal involves cutting trees, a significant cause of deforestation.
For millions of women cooking daily meals for their families, exposure to smoke from dirty fuel causes respiratory disease.
But we have a healthier, more sustainable solution: bamboo charcoal!
Bamboos are native in Madagascar, and locally abundant. Some bamboo are so dense, they make excellent substitutes for wood—and because they can grow up to a meter a day, they’re much more renewable and sustainable than cutting trees.
Using a highly efficient kiln, we create renewable bamboo charcoal. Every day, we produce enough charcoal to meet a family’s needs for a month.
JAOZAFY Cleriette, who uses bamboo charcoal, says “bamboo charcoal works! It’s very hot. Only a small amount is needed to cook my food, and it doesn’t make smoke.”
Local restaurateur SOAHENDRY Annicette adds, “It’s really hot! Once it’s lit, it’s really burning hot. The food is cooked quickly. There’s no smoke, and it doesn’t dirty the cooking pot!”
“Bamboo charcoal is an innovation in clean cooking technology that is at the nexus of household economics, health, and environment,” says DLC Director of Conservation James Herrera, Ph.D. “Bamboo charcoal will revolutionize cleaner energy in Madagascar.”
“In addition to traditional uses of bamboo, like building homes and fences, bamboo can also be used to make charcoal,” says DLC-SAVA Clean Energy Entrepreneur RATIARAY Judex. “We’re introducing [bamboo] to reduce the use of trees for charcoal.”
“The fast growth of bamboo makes it better than trees. Just three to five years after planting, bamboo can be harvested for charcoal.”
DLC-SAVA Clean Energy Entrepreneur VELONTSOA Elodie adds, “There are many benefits from [bamboo charcoal]. One is, we women can also produce it!”
With sustainable development projects like these, the Duke Lemur Center is working with local communities to conserve both the forests and the lemurs. Our conservation projects in Madagascar are run exclusively on grants and donations. Support our work with a tax-deductible donation today!
To learn more about conservation projects like this, visit the DLC-SAVA Conservation homepage.
