FRANCIS LUNGU, Lusaka
THE question perhaps to ask is whether charcoal is agriculture or not? It is a debate. What is not debatable though is that it is forestry.
But for Sekwa Sinyangwe, it is big business. Especially now. Sekwa has been a charcoal trader for 20 years now. He has been able to support his wife and six children through charcoal trading which he conducts at Chilulu’s Fred Joe market in Lusaka.
Sekwa has a partner, Mixing Shamalimba, who has been trading in charcoal for 10 years. Since the onset of the cold season and the start of loadshedding by Zesco on June 1, Sekwa and Mixing have seen a boom in their business. They say they have more than doubled their charcoal sales from an average of 150 bags per week to between 300 and 400 bags.
Their main source of charcoal is the famous charcoal hub of Kapiri Mposhi in Central Province and Kaoma, Western Province.http://epaper.daily-mail.co.zm/