IBO Otto Bruno standing in front of his Casamance Kiln (for improved efficiency charcoal production), stacked and ready to cover with leaves, followed by a layer of dirt.

 

 

Sections of logs are rolled into place. (These sections turned out to be too big and did not burn well).

 

 

The first layer is laid down.

 

 

 

After stacking, a chimney made from welded barrels is put in place.

 

 

The stack is covered with leaves. The next step is to cover everything with dirt and then to light the logs on fire for the controled burn. The burn will take up to a week and has to be attended 24/7 to make sure no leaks develop. If a leak develops, it has to be covered quickly with dirt.

 

 

IBO’S STATUS: Ibo completed his first Casamance Kiln. The outcome was not as good as expected, though better than his previous traditional method. After getting some technical advice from Dr. Kjell Christophersen and Dr. Edward Karach for the next kiln, Ibo will reduce the size of the big logs and use more medium pieces. Another improvement on this kiln might be baffling the chimney.

Ibo has been selling this first batch of charcoal. We are waiting to hear how the sales went.

Stay tuned.