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Every year the sugar cane fields of Maharashtra State in India produce a staggering four and half million tonnes of leaf waste. As the cane is harvested, the farmer is left with a mass of leaves known as 'sugar cane trash'. The leaves are full of lignin and silica, so don't decompose easily and are no good as food for cows. Traditionally, the answer has been to get them out of the way by burning them.

The Appropriate Rural Technology Institute of India (ARTI) has come up with another solution. It has developed a special kiln that puts the leaves to good use by converting them to charcoal powder. The powder is then formed into briquettes that can be used as fuel for domestic stoves. ARTI estimates that a rural family could make 100Kg of char-briquettes a day and so earn 3,000 Rupees (approx £35) a week by selling them on.

Charring the sugar cane trash in kilns instead of burning it in the open is helping to keep the skies clear and is reducing unnecessary carbon emissions.

ARTI has also developed a new, improved, cooker that can use these briquettes as fuel. This 'Sarai' cooker uses only 100g of briquettes to cook food that would normally need 3Kg of firewood.

The aim of this project is to increase the production of briquettes from sugar cane trash and to popularise the use of briquettes for cooking.