Wren Blog

Resuming production and exciting plans for August

Ben Stanfield -

Just the gist

If you're in a hurry, here's what you need to know this month:

  • Most lockdown measures are being lifted in Uganda, including the resumption of public transit.
  • The project will onboard new staff and resume production of clean burning briquettes this week.
  • The Clean Cooking Fuel team (legally Mandulis Energy) was visited by USAID to check in on their renewable energy partnership
  • The project is conducting a new "situational analysis" to assess the needs of refugees to see if the assumptions from last year are holding up post-COVID.

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Here in the U.S., we've been watching COVID-19 cases continue to rise, and uncertainty is as high as ever. But we have good news!

With most COVID lockdown measures now lifted in Uganda, all public transport modes have resumed, especially tricycle pickups and bikes, which are a crucial part of the project's logistics. As the country opens, Clean Cooking Fuel for Refugees will resume operations this week (August 3rd, 2020).

First look at clean briquettes & gasifier for refugee families!

A few days ago we received the first imagery and video of the clean briquettes burning inside a gasifier, exactly how refugee families will utilize the output of this project. Take a look:

Production & new software set to roll out in August

August is shaping up to be a big month for the Clean Cooking Fuel for Refugees project as Uganda emerges from COVID-19 lockdown. Here's what the team is up to for the month:

  • General infrastructure maintenance at the briquette production site
  • Hiring and training of new staff
  • Conducting an updated situational analysis, and needs assessment of the refugee settlements and rural farming host communities
  • Connecting a new high voltage renewable electricity connection to the briquette factory
  • Resuming of manufacturing of briquettes and distribution of stoves
  • Completing the first iteration of the Clean Cooking Fuel app
  • Acquiring electric tricycle pickups for distribution of briquettes and stoves, and collection of biomass residues
The team kicked off the month with a visit from USAID. Here Peter (far right), the project lead, is showing visitors biomass samples before they get turned into briquettes.

That's it for this month's update on Clean Cooking Fuel for Refugees! If you want to go above and beyond, send this link to your friends and invite them to Wren! Every month we’re inspired by how many supporters tell their friends about Wren 🧡