Figure 8: Coal purchase by conta<strong>in</strong>erFigure 5: Coal stove <strong>in</strong> disrepair (a)Figure 6: Coal stove <strong>in</strong> disrepair (b)4. Coal supply<strong>Ho<strong>use</strong>hold</strong>s <strong>in</strong> Vosm<strong>an</strong> obta<strong>in</strong> <strong>coal</strong> by purchas<strong>in</strong>gfrom <strong>coal</strong> merch<strong>an</strong>ts as well as by collect<strong>in</strong>g <strong>coal</strong>from a nearby old <strong>coal</strong> dump. <strong>Ho<strong>use</strong>hold</strong>s don’tadmit freely to collect<strong>in</strong>g <strong>coal</strong> from the dump as it isprohibited <strong>an</strong>d they c<strong>an</strong> be prosecuted. Collect<strong>in</strong>gfrom the dump is also d<strong>an</strong>gerous <strong>an</strong>d ho<strong>use</strong>holdsreport hear<strong>in</strong>g explosions (most possibly frommeth<strong>an</strong>e gas) <strong>an</strong>d the <strong>coal</strong> cav<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>. There is alsoa very bad smell around the dump <strong>an</strong>d people havereportedly become ill <strong>an</strong>d vomited while collect<strong>in</strong>g<strong>coal</strong>. The quality of the collected <strong>coal</strong> is also verylow s<strong>in</strong>ce it is full of stones, very big <strong>in</strong> size, brittle<strong>an</strong>d reportedly it does not burn well <strong>an</strong>d it is difficultto light. Lastly, out of the 13 <strong>coal</strong> merch<strong>an</strong>tssell<strong>in</strong>g <strong>coal</strong> that were <strong>in</strong>terviewed, 1 admitted sell<strong>in</strong>g<strong>coal</strong> from the dump<strong>in</strong>g site. However, the projectteam suspects that more merch<strong>an</strong>ts are sell<strong>in</strong>g <strong>coal</strong>from the dump or mix<strong>in</strong>g it with <strong>coal</strong> bought elsewhere.Figure 7: A home-made <strong>coal</strong> stove or purulw<strong>an</strong>abetween R7.50 <strong>an</strong>d R10.00 with most ho<strong>use</strong>holdsreport<strong>in</strong>g pay<strong>in</strong>g R7.50 per bucket. Truck loads variedfrom as low as R190.00 to R1000.00 – the pricewould depend on the size of the truck <strong>an</strong>d wherethe <strong>coal</strong> was bought. Prices per bag varied betweenR28.00 <strong>an</strong>d R35.00 per bag, with most peoplereport<strong>in</strong>g pay<strong>in</strong>g R30.00 per bag.Figure 9: The <strong>coal</strong> dump where ho<strong>use</strong>holdscollect <strong>coal</strong>In total, 13 <strong>coal</strong> merch<strong>an</strong>ts or sellers were <strong>in</strong>terviewed.Interest<strong>in</strong>gly, 8 of the 13 merch<strong>an</strong>ts arefemale <strong>an</strong>d reported own<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>coal</strong> sell<strong>in</strong>g bus<strong>in</strong>ess.What is notable is that unlike <strong>coal</strong> yards <strong>in</strong>other <strong>township</strong>s such as Or<strong>an</strong>ge Farm, Tembisa <strong>an</strong>dAlex<strong>an</strong>dra, the <strong>coal</strong> yards of Vosm<strong>an</strong> are microenterprises,often operated from the owners’ homes<strong>an</strong>d sell<strong>in</strong>g only <strong>coal</strong> as opposed to other products30 Journal of Energy <strong>in</strong> <strong>South</strong>ern <strong>Africa</strong> • Vol 18 No 3 • August 2007
such as wood, LPG, paraff<strong>in</strong> or spaza shop-typefood products. From the available data it is not possibleto speculate on the relationship between thesize of the operations <strong>an</strong>d the gender of their owners,but this may be <strong>an</strong> extremely <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g issue toexplore.Figure 10: A female <strong>coal</strong> seller <strong>an</strong>d helperOut of the 13 sellers, 4 reported also sell<strong>in</strong>gother energy carriers – 3 sold <strong>coal</strong> <strong>an</strong>d wood, while1 sold <strong>coal</strong> <strong>an</strong>d paraff<strong>in</strong>. Data suggests that some<strong>coal</strong> sellers sell on average 5 tonnes of <strong>coal</strong> permonth dur<strong>in</strong>g summer <strong>an</strong>d 10 tonnes of <strong>coal</strong> permonth dur<strong>in</strong>g the w<strong>in</strong>ter period. From responses, itcould be seen that sales figures double from summerto w<strong>in</strong>ter. The average tonnage sales figuresshould be treated as <strong>in</strong>dicative only, s<strong>in</strong>ce not allsellers could <strong>an</strong>swer exactly how much they sell permonth – <strong>an</strong>other <strong>in</strong>dication of their unstructuredapproach to sell<strong>in</strong>g <strong>coal</strong>. In terms of monthly<strong>in</strong>come from sell<strong>in</strong>g <strong>coal</strong>, merch<strong>an</strong>ts reportedly soldon average R1670 worth of <strong>coal</strong> per month dur<strong>in</strong>gsummer <strong>an</strong>d R2450 worth of <strong>coal</strong> per month dur<strong>in</strong>gw<strong>in</strong>ter. It was impossible for <strong>coal</strong> sellers to calculatehow much profit they were mak<strong>in</strong>g from the bus<strong>in</strong>essof sell<strong>in</strong>g <strong>coal</strong>.Merch<strong>an</strong>ts reported a variety of problems thatthey experience as a <strong>coal</strong> merch<strong>an</strong>t. Extend<strong>in</strong>gcredit to ho<strong>use</strong>holds who then do not repay themerch<strong>an</strong>t was the most often cited problem <strong>an</strong>d 6of the 13 merch<strong>an</strong>ts mentioned it: ‘They w<strong>an</strong>t creditbut they don’t pay’ <strong>an</strong>d ‘Customers w<strong>an</strong>t creditthen they don’t pay back <strong>an</strong>d they make my profitshot’ also ‘People don’t have money to buy <strong>coal</strong><strong>an</strong>d wood. They say give me one bag of <strong>coal</strong> <strong>an</strong>dend of the month I will pay you. End of the monththey don’t pay.’The second most mentioned problem relates tothe quality of the <strong>coal</strong> (mentioned by 3 sellers, allbuy<strong>in</strong>g their <strong>coal</strong> from the same supplier, namelyGrasp<strong>an</strong>, Middelburg): ‘The quality of the <strong>coal</strong>ch<strong>an</strong>ges <strong>an</strong>d my customers compla<strong>in</strong>. Sometimes itis good <strong>an</strong>d sometimes it is bad’.The same respondent mentions that sometimesthe <strong>coal</strong> is like ‘black s<strong>an</strong>d’ which she c<strong>an</strong>’t sell <strong>an</strong>dshe c<strong>an</strong>not return to the m<strong>in</strong>e. The second respondentsaid: ‘…sometimes the <strong>coal</strong> does not burn,<strong>an</strong>d then people don’t buy from me’.<strong>Ho<strong>use</strong>hold</strong>s as well as <strong>coal</strong> merch<strong>an</strong>ts experiencedproblems with <strong>coal</strong>, as discussed above.<strong>Ho<strong>use</strong>hold</strong>s listed the follow<strong>in</strong>g problems:• The <strong>coal</strong> does not burn well• The quality is poor, the <strong>coal</strong> is full of stones• Coal is expensive• Coal smoke makes us sick• Coal smoke makes curta<strong>in</strong>s <strong>an</strong>d walls <strong>in</strong>side theho<strong>use</strong> dirty• You c<strong>an</strong>not <strong>use</strong> <strong>coal</strong> when you have <strong>an</strong>HIV/Aids patient <strong>in</strong> the ho<strong>use</strong>5. Conclusions <strong>an</strong>d recommendationsVosm<strong>an</strong> Township is situated <strong>in</strong> the heart of <strong>coal</strong>m<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g country <strong>in</strong> <strong>South</strong> <strong>Africa</strong>, <strong>an</strong>d the ch<strong>an</strong>ces ofho<strong>use</strong>holds ever completely ab<strong>an</strong>don<strong>in</strong>g <strong>coal</strong> areslim. Negative impacts result<strong>in</strong>g from <strong>coal</strong> <strong>use</strong> c<strong>an</strong>be m<strong>in</strong>imised through <strong>an</strong> <strong>in</strong>tegrated approach toaddress not only the symptoms of the problem, butalso the ca<strong>use</strong>s.Address<strong>in</strong>g the supply of <strong>coal</strong>, the first <strong>in</strong>terventionrecommended is to provide tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g to exist<strong>in</strong>g<strong>coal</strong> sellers to enable them to source <strong>an</strong>d negotiatefor better quality <strong>coal</strong>. Coal m<strong>in</strong>es <strong>an</strong>d large suppliersare sell<strong>in</strong>g the lowest quality <strong>coal</strong> for consumption<strong>in</strong> the <strong>township</strong>s <strong>an</strong>d consumers are pay<strong>in</strong>g apremium for low quality fuel. Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g provided to<strong>coal</strong> sellers should <strong>in</strong>clude basic bus<strong>in</strong>ess m<strong>an</strong>agement<strong>an</strong>d adm<strong>in</strong>istration so that sellers c<strong>an</strong> m<strong>an</strong>ageissues such as credit extension <strong>in</strong> a susta<strong>in</strong>ablem<strong>an</strong>ner. Coal sellers should also be supported tostock cle<strong>an</strong>er, healthier fuels <strong>an</strong>d energy efficientappli<strong>an</strong>ces, as well as make these items available toho<strong>use</strong>holds <strong>in</strong> <strong>an</strong> affordable m<strong>an</strong>ner. Lack of access<strong>an</strong>d the affordability of cle<strong>an</strong>er, safer <strong>an</strong>d healthierfuels <strong>an</strong>d appli<strong>an</strong>ces are often some of the biggestbarriers for ho<strong>use</strong>holds – they are not aware of theexistence of the products <strong>an</strong>d they c<strong>an</strong>not afford tobuy them without credit. Products that c<strong>an</strong> be madeavailable <strong>in</strong>clude heat retention devices, solar cookers,gel fuel <strong>an</strong>d gel fuel stoves, safe paraff<strong>in</strong> appli<strong>an</strong>cesas well as LPG.The actual aim of the project was to implementa demonstration <strong>an</strong>d tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g programme, illustrat<strong>in</strong>g<strong>an</strong> alternative fire light<strong>in</strong>g method called theBasa njengo Magogo method. By stack<strong>in</strong>g a <strong>coal</strong>fire differently <strong>an</strong>d light<strong>in</strong>g it from the top, moreth<strong>an</strong> 80% of smoke c<strong>an</strong> be elim<strong>in</strong>ated (Trade <strong>an</strong>dIndustry Chamber, 2004). The method has successfullybeen demonstrated to more th<strong>an</strong> 80 000ho<strong>use</strong>holds <strong>in</strong> <strong>coal</strong> burn<strong>in</strong>g areas of <strong>South</strong> <strong>Africa</strong>.The Basa Njengo Magogo (BNM) alternative firelight<strong>in</strong>g method represents the highest impact onhealth from a benefit-cost <strong>an</strong>d employment po<strong>in</strong>t ofview s<strong>in</strong>ce the method c<strong>an</strong> potentially reduce ambi-Journal of Energy <strong>in</strong> <strong>South</strong>ern <strong>Africa</strong> • Vol 18 No 3 • August 2007 31
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