Fig. 2

Energy briquettes as the boundary object for social engagement and learning. Figure 2 represents the power over locally-embedded knowledge, which was leveraged by academics and policy-makers in Kampala city, using energy briquettes as the boundary object, to demonstrate that is possible to resolve sustainability challenges such as urban poverty, inequality and climate change. The LoNSEK project has worked with Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) on how to take lessons from alternative organic waste management to initiate institutional support for scaling up at city-regional scale that would reduce costs of waste transportation to the landfill center. According to policy-makers from KCCA, the city authority spends an estimated 1/3 of its annual budget to managing wastes, ¾ of which are organic and if turned into energy, KCCA would save, communities would gain businesses and users would have a reduced per capita emissions which at the moment stands at ~ 200 g per person per year. In order to disseminate knowledge on piloted and innovative ideas on turning waste into energy briquettes, the LoNSEK project organized community barazas in Bwaise III parish. More community groups became interested to join the business of making energy briquettes as an alternative cooking energy, which is sustained by the large volumes of organic material flowing into the city. At the end of the project, there were over 10 energy-briquette making enterprises across Bwaise III, which joined an umbrella enterprise known as Lubaga Charcoal Briquette Cooperative Society Limited (LUCHACOS)