L’économie politique de la filière du charbon de bois à Kinshasa et à Lubumbashi

Theodore Trefon, Thomas Hendriks, Noël Kabuyaya and Balthazar Ngoy

No 2010.03, IOB Working Papers from Universiteit Antwerpen, Institute of Development Policy (IOB)

Abstract: Charcoal use in urban Congo expanded significantly in the early 1990s. While recourse to charcoal (makala) as cooking fuel existed during the early independence period, most urban households had access to electricity for domestic use. Population, pressure, poorly maintained infrastructures and state crisis combined to force people to rely on makala for their daily cooking needs. Trade networks developed to make the link between makala producers and consumers. This can be considered as a popular response to state failure and is the subject of this working paper. Our research followed the trade network that includes charcoal producers, transporters, middlemen, wholesalers and retailers and a host of other peripheral supporting actors who claim to „live miraculously? from the network. The main conclusion of the research is that this informal trade network thrives, despite hassles from state agents, because it provides a vital service to Congo's urban poor.

Pages: 112 pages
Date: 2010-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr and nep-ene
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iob:wpaper:2010003

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