FAO.org

More than 2.4 billion people rely on firewood and charcoal for cooking, energy and income around the world (FAO 2017). These resources are commonly associated to deforestation and unsustainable, informal value chains. Since 2010, the Association of Women Producers and Traders of Secondary Forest Products (MALEBI), Ivorian NGO composed by 14 women, has been engaging in sustainable ways of producing and trading legal charcoal. The FAO-EU FLEGT programme partnered with MALEBI to develop a traceability system for legally produced charcoal based on blockchain technology.

Results, findings and lessons learned can be found in the traceability pilot project’s executive summary, here.