The Economic Benefits of Bush Thinning

Frequently Asked Questions

How many charcoal or briquettes should I use to cook/BBQ on?

The general rule is to use around 1kg charcoal for 1kg food to be cooked. This can vary between certain types of food and recipes.

What is the easiest way to light BBQ charcoal products?

The best way to light any charcoal products is to use commercial firelighters in combination with a chimney starter also commercially available.

When is the charcoal ready?

When all black parts of the charcoal turn white.

How long after the charcoal is ready can I cook on it?

Around 10-15 minutes. Allow the charcoal to cool down a bit otherwise your food can burn on an open fire. This guideline is not applicable when used in a closed oven or BBQ with a lid on.

Where is Namibia?

It is a country on the Atlantic ocean in the southwestern region of Africa, just north of South Africa and just south of Angola. It is around 3.1 times the size of New Zealand with a population of around 2.69 million people (2023).

In 2020, more than one-half of all Namibian households rely on wood for cooking and heating. In order to restore rangelands and enhance ecosystems, systematic bush thinning is being used to tackle the issue of bush encroachment.

The byproduct of this process has led Namibia to being one of the main exporters of charcoal worldwide while providing jobs, protecting the environment and producing a fuel for cooking and space heating.

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  • Bush Thinning

    Controlling bush remains a challenger, but various methods from manual thinning with hand tools right through to mechanised control.

  • Charcoal Production

    Among many other uses, biomass from bush thinning has seen Namibia export hundreds of thousands of tons of charcoal.

  • Rehabilitation

    With government incentivised programmes in place, the indigenous species of Namibia are slowly returning.