This archive report was first published on 19 July 2019.
Published on July 19, 2019, a Kenyan pilot has found a new way to contribute to the environment. Allan Marega, a soft-spoken man, has moved from the cockpit to the charcoal business.
After serving as a pilot for over 15 years, Marega started Global Supply Solutions (GSS), a company that produces 'fancy' charcoal briquettes in 2015. The company makes charcoal from waste materials from pineapple harvesters in Thika plantations.
Unlike traditional charcoal producers who cut trees, GSS compacts biomass waste into charcoal products in the form of solid blocks or pellets. Marega says, 'Pineapple waste has a higher calorific value than other sources of briquettes, meaning higher heat content and burns more than two times longer than charcoal.'
With the help of Denmark-based briquetting machine maker, C.F. Nielsen, the factory was set up right on the plantation. The company has not gone unnoticed by environmental authorities and advocates.
Global Supply Solutions (GSS) is making Sh10 million in sales every month to clients such as East African Breweries Limited and Bamburi Cement. The company has received a Sh110 million loan from Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC) in 2017.
The company intends to expand annual production capacity from 25,000 tonnes to 50,000 tonnes of briquettes. A kilogramme of eco-friendly GSS pineapple briquettes retails at Ksh50, and clients range from schools, manufacturing firms, and hotels.
