Arandis gets warehouse for charcoal processing

Green Charcoal Namibia was registered in 2021 to process and package charcoal for export to Europe. A groundbreaking ceremony for a charcoal production plant was held at the Arandis town hall on 22 April 2022 .

The company is supported by a company called Carbobois in Belgium which sells charcoal and briquettes in Spain, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and other European markets. Carbobois has awarded Green Charcoal Namibia with a supply contract for 2022 and 2023.

"We found Namibia very welcoming; imports of charcoal from Namibia have increased, so we decided to come and invest in the country, and Arandis is a nice location because the main road is beside it, making transportation easier," said Cédric Schmidt, one of the directors of Green Charcoal Namibia.

Warehouse

A warehouse of 4 000 square metres will be built, with offices, storage facilities, employee showers and toilets, a cafeteria, and a weighbridge. This is expected to be finished by the end of November 2022.

An amount of 30 000 tonnes of charcoal will be processed and packaged at this warehouse.

"The warehouse is designed to accommodate 50 000 tonnes, but due to the machinery we have available, we will begin with 30 000 tonnes for now and expand as we go," said Jean-Daniel Goblet, director of Green Charcoal Namibia. This represents 125 containers to be shipped per month.

One of the company's goals is to increase the supply of charcoal exported to Belgium from 20 000 tonnes to 40 000 tonnes.

Manufacturing of briquettes will be done next to the warehouse. Small pieces of charcoal are crushed, mixed with starch and pressed together to form briquettes.

The company expects to produce 8 000 tonnes of briquettes

annually, which amounts to roughly 133 containers a month.

At the warehouse, 60 Arandis residents will be employed. They will be provided with medical benefits as well as training in areas such as first aid, fire management, and other aspects of charcoal handling.

"We have been working on the field part-time since October, but this facility will allow us to hire full-time employees," Goblet said.

Potential new markets

Green Charcoal Namibia intends to ship its Namibian products not only to the factory in Belgium, but also to other new and fast growing markets such as the Middle East (Dubai, Qatar), the United States of America (USA), Canada, Australia, and Eastern Europe (Poland, Germany and Czech Republic).

Nathalia /Goagoses, deputy minister of urban and rural development, praised the development.

"This is a fantastic development in Arandis; it will contribute to the country's GDP, create jobs, and give back to the community."

She added that this is a Namibian project that should be protected from vandalism and harm.

"Let us guard this with zeal so that this project can progress to the next stage and last for future generations."

Bush encroachment

Namibia currently has 45 million hectares of farmland affected by bush encroachment. The company only buys charcoal from farmers who follow the Namibia Charcoal Association's Encroacher Bush Harvesting guidelines (NCA).

So far, more than 20 farmers from Windhoek, Kamanjab and Grootfontein have participated. Maltahöhe and Rehoboth might soon be added to the list, as bush encroachment is increasing in those areas.

Corporate social responsibility

In addition, the company will engage in social projects. It plans to construct two recreational parks in Arandis. The group will commit funding of about N$1 million per year in Namibia, and has already agreed to donate N$320 000 to Mama Ouma, an informal soup kitchen in Swakopmund that feeds 100 children twice a day.