Divine Bamboo creating local market for clean cooking in Uganda

This case study profiles Divine Bamboo, a Ugandan social enterprise that produces clean cooking fuel from fast-growing local bamboo species to combat deforestation and health issues associated with traditional fuels.

• Divine Bamboo produces bamboo-based briquettes as an ecologically sustainable alternative to tree biomass from natural forests. These briquettes have a higher calorific value than traditional charcoal and firewood, produce less soot and smoke, and can reduce household fuel expenditure by 50 percent, costing USD 0.32 per kilogram compared to USD 0.64 for charcoal.
• Since starting in 2016, Divine Bamboo has become Uganda's largest producer of bamboo seedlings, with an annual capacity of 400,000 seedlings and approximately 25 hectares of bamboo planted. The enterprise has trained 350 small-scale farmers, primarily women and youth, in establishing bamboo plantations and producing briquettes.
• As a recipient of the Energy Access Booster Award, which provides up to USD 50,000 and strategic consulting, Divine Bamboo intends to scale production to four tonnes of briquettes per month by hiring technical staff and acquiring automated equipment.
• Divine Bamboo's five-year objectives include employing at least 300 people directly and indirectly, training an additional 250 people in the value chain, and reducing the consumption of charcoal and firewood from unsustainable sources by 20 percent in Kampala.
• Uganda faces a significant clean cooking deficit, with approximately 42 million people lacking access. The Tracking SDG7: The Energy Progress Report 2019 listed Uganda among 20 countries with the largest access deficits, noting that less than 5 percent of the population uses clean fuels and technologies as their primary cooking method.

APA

Sustainable Energy for All (2020). Divine Bamboo creating local market for clean cooking in Uganda. https://www.seforall.org/stories-of-success/divine-bamboo-creating-local-market-for-clean-cooking-in-uganda

Chicago

Sustainable Energy for All. Divine Bamboo creating local market for clean cooking in Uganda. 2020. https://www.seforall.org/stories-of-success/divine-bamboo-creating-local-market-for-clean-cooking-in-uganda.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Sustainable Energy for All |title=Divine Bamboo creating local market for clean cooking in Uganda |date=30 April 2020 |url=https://www.seforall.org/stories-of-success/divine-bamboo-creating-local-market-for-clean-cooking-in-uganda |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sustainableenergyforall2020divine, author = {{Sustainable Energy for All}}, title = {{Divine Bamboo creating local market for clean cooking in Uganda}}, institution = {Sustainable Energy for All}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {https://www.seforall.org/stories-of-success/divine-bamboo-creating-local-market-for-clean-cooking-in-uganda}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }