Saving shea: How a Ugandan woman is turning waste into clean energy
Across northern Uganda, many more shea trees had been cut down for charcoal. While working in South Sudan, Atim met a woman in Yida making fuel briquettes...
Key points
- Across northern Uganda, many more shea trees had been cut down for charcoal.
- While working in South Sudan, Atim met a woman in Yida making fuel briquettes from discarded shea husks.
- In 2023, she founded Moyao Africa Initiative, a social enterprise that turns shea waste into fuel briquettes, while helping women earn a living from processing shea butter.
- The initiative employs six staff and works with more than 1,200 women organised in savings groups to collect shea waste, produce briquettes and process butter.
What happened
Across northern Uganda, many more shea trees had been cut down for charcoal. While working in South Sudan, Atim met a woman in Yida making fuel briquettes from discarded shea husks. In 2023, she founded Moyao Africa Initiative, a social enterprise that turns shea waste into fuel briquettes, while helping women earn a living from processing shea butter. The initiative employs six staff and works with more than 1,200 women organised in savings groups to collect shea waste, produce briquettes and process butter. By training them to make and sell briquettes and shea butter, we’re creating an income while providing an affordable alternative to charcoal,” she said. That means more shea husks and, in turn, more briquettes.