The government of Sokoto State, in collaboration with RUWES, held a train the trainers (TOT) workshop to train up to 50 women selected across the State to undergo renewable energy training focused on briquette production, cookstove assembly and usage, and climate action. This workshop focused on the use of agricultural and environmental waste for briquette fabrication in the local context, intending to discourage the continuous cutting down of trees, which leads to deforestation, as well as sensitizing participants on the health benefits of cooking with cleaner alternatives.
The training also aimed to educate the participants about the economic viability of briquette production as a source of income and to link the participants to finance for large-scale production by leveraging on existing partnerships with Micro-Finance Institutions.
In addition, RUWES also installed 2 industrial briquette-making machines and combustion equipment to facilitate the carbonization of agricultural wastes and environmental wastes that are locally sourced for the production of briquette. To ensure localization of the equipment, RUWES also tutored the trainers on how to locally source and build technologies for briquette production. The first phase was held to train 50 women on clean cooking, the production of briquettes, and business development in the clean cooking sector. The second phase of the training is targeted at training up to 200 Women in 2023.