Practical Answers saves lives and livelihoods

In the village of Hummadab near Kassala in Sudan residents were, until recently, pastoralists and farmers. Raising livestock demands a fair amount of water both for watering and to grow fodder and grass to feed them. But Africa is under severe threat from global warming and is already feeling the consequences – many water sources have dried up.

The villagers of Hummadab had quite literally no idea how they could earn a living. Now residents have discovered a new income from charcoal manufacture. Initially they turned to charcoal making because it’s in demand in a nearby town where it’s used in the coffee making process.

The traditional charcoal kiln required wood to be placed in a circle, covered over with earth and a fire started at the top. It would take 3-4 days to process. Then a development worker from a local organisation downloaded our charcoal-making factsheet from Practical Answers (more about that in a moment). The villagers installed new steel charcoal kilns according to our design and in the process cut their processing time down to just one day. Not only that it is easier to operate and saves time and labour. Additionally it turns agricultural waste into charcoal so it helps prevent deforestation.

So what is Practical Answers?

Well, Practical Action is continually innovating to create solutions to problems in developing countries. When we find something that works in one place we create a factsheet and put it onto Practical Answers. Practical Answers is a web-based directory of all our best solutions. And in addition we answer people's questions.

Each year we respond to 8,000 different questions and enquiries from development workers and farming communities. People contact us by phone, web and email. Everyone gets a bespoke reply in a language they can understand.

Have a look at the Practical Answers website to see the range of information and advice it offers.

The lives of an estimated 3 million people are helped each year by Practical Answers.  This is another way in which our work has a bigger impact. And because people in the developing world are implementing their own solutions they tend to make sure they work.