Haiti - Environment : Commercial success in the organically coal
The company Ticadaie, established by CEO, Alix Villedrouin, TiCadaie entered the charcoal market just over a year ago with its organically produced black coal briquette, a cheaper, longer lasting, environmentally friendly (because its ash can be used as fertilizer) alternative to charcoal.
Cutting down trees for the purposes of producing charcoal has been an environmental catastrophe for Haiti. 60 to 70% of Haitians are still dependent on charcoal for cooking, and so overall the country consumes 440,000 tons of charcoal a year.
TiCadaie brings a breath of fresh air in the industry with their briquettes, a mix of rice husks, sawdust, clay, starch, amyris (sandalwood oil), and charcoal or coal dust, that is all in plentiful supply and sustainable. The company has 40 staff involved in manufacturing and distribution. Today the Ticadaie plant has a daily output capacity of 15 tons, up from just 1.5 tons a year ago, of which it sells around 60 tons a week, mainly in and around Port-au-Prince, where some 70% of all charcoal is burned. Proof that Haiti is open to green renewable energy.
