Conserving available fuelwood

The fuelwood crisis is a fight against time. The less wood there is in an area, the more the consumption of firewood threatens the survival of forests. Also, more often than not, growth rate of trees is outpaced by the rate by which they are cut. Fortunately, there are some simple ways of conserving firewood.

Conseving available fuelwood

1. Use trees with high calorific value.
2. Cut trees at the right age.

TABLE 23. MINIMUM AGE AT CUTTING.

SPECIES	MIN. AGE AT CUTTING (YEARS)
Gliricidia septum	2
Leucaena leucocephala	2
Leucaena diversifolia	2
Acacia auriculiformis	2
Cassia siamea	2
Prosopis chilensis	3
Eucalyptus camaldulensis	3
Casuarina equisetifolia	3
Gmelina arborea	3
Derris indica	4

3. One-and-a-half inch diameter wood would be ideal. It is easier to dry and will provide enough burning surface.

4. Improve wood drying. Moisture affects the heating value of wood. A wood with 50-percent moisture content provides at most 57 percent of its heating value as it utilizes the remaining heat to dry itself.

Dry them under the sun for two consecutive days.

Gather the sun-dried wood before the sun sets. Do not gather them late at night as they absorb moisture from the atmosphere very fast.

Pile them in an elevated and shaded platform to avoid their absorption of moisture from the soil.

Protect sun-dried firewood from rain.

Dry wood for next meal cooking over the stove to further remove moisture.

5. Use improved stoves. Open-fire stoves are known to have 10 percent or less efficiency in moderate breeze. Improved woodstoves can give as much as 25-35 percent efficiency, saving as much as half the volume of wood used in open-fire stoves.

Use improved stoves

6. Other simple and practical ways to further reduce fuelwood consumption:

Before cooking hard-coated seeds like mungbeans and cowpea, soak them in tap water ovemight.
For tough meat, add papaya or any other materials known to speed up cooking.

If food being cooked is brought to a boil, reduce firewood. Maintain one or two species - enough to maintain the simmer.

If hot food is desired, construct a hay box to keep the food warm. No need for reheating.