Call for Applications: USAID Promoting Alternative Technologies & Fuels to Reduce the Use of Charcoal for Cooking (Congo DR)

Deadline: 27-Jan-2025

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE) is seeking applications for a cooperative agreement from qualified entities to implement the USAID/CARPE Promoting Alternative Technologies and Fuels to Reduce the Use of Charcoal for Cooking in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Activity.

The objective of the USAID Promoting Alternative Technologies and Fuels to Reduce the Use of Charcoal for Cooking in the Democratic Republic of the Congo activity is to reduce deforestation and forest degradation by reducing the amount of charcoal that is used for cooking.

In the metropolitan area of Kinshasa there are around 17 million inhabitants (2021). Approximately 97% of the population uses charcoal for cooking (to different levels and frequency), while only 12% of households use improved cookstoves. On average, a household uses 0.346 kg of charcoal and 0.016 kg of fuelwood daily in Kinshasa, which equates to 9.8 to 13.4 million tons of wood used annually. According to Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, Kinshasa alone consumes around 18 million tons of charcoal annually. In the North Kivu city of Goma, there are around 2 million inhabitants (2022) and only 4.1% have access to electricity. Around 80% of Goma households use charcoal and firewood as the primary fuels for cooking. Because of the high-level use of charcoal for cooking in urban areas such as Kinshasa and Goma, it is important to address charcoal use as a key way to reduce deforestation and forest degradation.

Objectives 

• The goal is to reduce deforestation and forest degradation due to charcoal production and consumption in priority cities in the DRC. To achieve this goal, four objectives have been identified:
  • Reduce the use of charcoal for cooking in households and business activities.
  • Improve the business environment for the charcoal alternative industry.
  • Support the private sector to scale up low emissions charcoal alternative technologies and fuels.
  • Support charcoal producers to transition to alternative sustainable livelihoods and improve efficiency of charcoal production.
• These goals will be achieved by focusing on four intermediates results (IR):
  • IR 1. Charcoal consumption in targeted urban and peri-urban cities is reduced
  • IR 2. Business and regulations environment for the charcoal and alternative industry is strengthened
  • IR 3. Private sector-led low emissions charcoal alternative technologies and fuels for clean cooking are supported
  • IR 4. Alternative sustainable livelihoods and charcoal production efficiency are supported
• Other potential challenges this Activity aims to address:
  • An unfavorable business environment for the charcoal alternatives industry like LPG and electrical power.
  • Low public awareness of the overall negative impacts of widespread charcoal production on forests.
  • Large amounts of wood are used in charcoal production.
  • Lack of traceability system of the charcoal value chain.
  • Lack of alternatives to charcoal producers in transitioning to alternative sustainable livelihoods.

Funding Information

• Subject to funding availability and at the discretion of the Agency, USAID/DRC intends to provide approximately $20,000,000.00 in total USAID funding over a five (5) year period.

Eligible Activities 

• The key activities that will be supported through this activity include:
  • Support charcoal substitutes and require little or no wood additives.
  • Use an energy substance or material other than charcoal for cooking or other common uses.
  • Use of a tool or technique that reduces the amount of charcoal used for cooking.
  • Provide training for community members on the use and maintenance of new technologies, as well as the benefits of alternative fuels.
  • Advocate for supportive policies by working with government and policy-makers to promote policies that support the adoption of clean cooking technologies and fuels.
  • To secure funding from impact investors who are aligned with the business’s mission of promoting clean cooking solutions (ex. Carbon Credit Sales or Carbon Offset Partnerships).
  • Engage in policy dialogues by participating in discussions and forums to advocate for sustainable energy solutions and environmental conservation.
  • Promote an innovative method of charcoal production that saves the amount of raw wood needed.
  • Develop policies that regulate charcoal production, value chains, and promote sustainable practices.
  • Implement traceability systems and licensing schemes to monitor and control illegal charcoal production.
  • Implement campaigns to educate communities about the environmental and health benefits of switching to alternative technologies and fuels.
  • Training charcoal producers in improved production methods to increase efficiency and reduce emissions.

Geographic Location 

• The geographic area for this activity is the cities of Kinshasa, Goma, Bukavu, and Kisangani in the DRC and their surrounding areas, including their charcoal supply basins. The activity  will impact approximately 500,000 residents. These urban area residents are the primary users of charcoal for cooking, which is trucked into the city through supply lines that originate from  forested rural areas well beyond the city limits. Local economies, markets, sellers, and consumers of these cities and their surrounding areas will be impacted negatively if the charcoal market is reduced, and alternative livelihoods and alternative energy means are not provided.
• This Activity will focus on the demand side in addition to the production and supply side of the charcoal industry. This approach addresses the charcoal production industry, charcoal production efficiency, and alternative livelihoods for charcoal producers. This Activity will require collaboration with charcoal suppliers, in particular, plantation owners that generally operate outside of city limits in peri-urban and rural areas where charcoal is produced within commercial tree plantations using their own sustainably grown resources.
• The Applicant should work with commercial plantations to assist them to produce charcoal in a sustainable manner – using only wood produced from within the commercial tree plantation, relying strictly on their own sustainably managed orchards, and using methods that optimize charcoal production while at the same time reducing the mass of materials used for making charcoal. The goal is to increase the ratio of commercial plantation sustainably produced “green” charcoal to illegally harvested charcoal that enters the marketplace. This will also include integrating systems for monitoring the supply chain to ensure that charcoal entering the market is sustainably sourced, supporting efforts to develop a pilot approach to charcoal product traceability, and labeling of charcoal products in priority cities, while at the same time defining a strategy to address charcoal issues at the provincial level.

Eligibility Criteria

• Eligibility for this NOFO is not restricted. USAID/CARPE welcomes applications from all organizations, including organizations that have not previously received financial assistance from USAID.
• Cost Sharing is not anticipated under this activity.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.