At exactly 5am, when most households in Ugunga village, Kaliua District, are still wrapped in sleep, Miraji Kasimba (49), mostly known as 'Mzee Miraji' is already on his feet.
The air is cold and quiet as he straps a worn sack across his shoulder, grips a blunt axe, and begins a familiar walk into the bush.
For Mzee Miraji, the day starts not with hope, but with necessity.
“I wake up at five in the morning every day and walk for hours looking for firewood. If I don’t go, my children won’t eat,” he says, pausing briefly to catch his breath.
Miraji spends two to three hours searching for trees he can cut, trimming branches and tying them into bundles he can carry back to the village. By mid-morning, he returns dusty, sweaty and visibly exhausted.
A father of six, with a wife who depends entirely on his daily earnings, Miraji sells a bundle of firewood at TZS 2,000. On a good day, he manages to sell up to four bundles, earning about TZS 8,000.
“One bundle is TZS 2,000. When I am lucky, I sell four bundles in a day, but there are days I sell less. Life is very hard,” he says.
The work leaves him tired and dirty, but he sees few alternatives.
“This work makes me tired, but I have no other job. Firewood is the only way I can earn money to feed my family,” he adds quietly.
A few kilometres away, firewood and charcoal sustain another livelihood. Mr Katone Lugedeja (37), a pastoralist, has found a way to combine livestock keeping with the growing demand for household energy.
Using a two-wheel cart pulled by cattle, he transports firewood and sacks of charcoal to nearby villages.
“I use my cattle to pull the wheelbarrow because it is cheaper for me. This is how I transport firewood and charcoal to the villagers,” Katone explains.
A bag of charcoal sells at TZS 9,000, while a full cart of firewood goes for TZS 7,000. According to Katone, demand remains strong because villagers consider these fuels more affordable and reliable than alternatives promoted as clean cooking.
“Many villagers prefer this because it is affordable. Clean cooking is good, but the problem is money and availability. People buy what they can get easily and what they can pay for,” he says.
These daily struggles and choices in Kaliua mirror broader national patterns.
Findings from the 2023 Household Energy Consumption Survey (HECS) show that firewood remains the most purchased household energy source in Mainland Tanzania, with households buying an average of 10 bundles per month.
Charcoal follows closely at nine buckets, while LPG averages six kilograms and kerosene five litres per household.
The survey also reveals that larger households, particularly those with 11 or more members, tend to purchase more firewood and LPG overall, while charcoal use slightly declines as household size increases.
This suggests that as families grow, they prioritise fuels perceived as cheaper or more efficient for large-scale cooking.
Perhaps more striking is the rural–urban divide. While firewood use is expected to dominate in rural areas, the HECS shows that urban households actually consume more firewood on average—11 bundles per month, rising to 14 bundles among large families.
Energy expenditure further highlights the burden on households.
On average, Tanzanians spend TZS 67,000 per month on LPG, making it the most expensive cooking fuel.
Firewood and charcoal, though often viewed as cheaper, still take a significant share of household income, particularly for large families and small-scale food vendors.
In Tuombemungu village, food vendor Asha Lutumbika has experienced both sides of the energy debate.
She recently bought a 6kg LPG cylinder at TZS 60,000 and refills it at between TZS 25,000 and TZS 26,000. The gas lasts about two weeks, pushing her monthly energy costs above TZS 50,000.
“When I use gas, it helps me cook faster and saves time, but refilling is a big challenge,” she says. “I have to go to Kaliua town and spend about TZS 14,000 just on transport.”
Using firewood, she explains, is even more expensive in the long run. Spending TZS 3,000 to 4,000 daily quickly adds up to more than TZS 100,000 per month. Yet availability often determines her choice.
“Sometimes there is no gas cylinder to refill. That forces us back to firewood, even when we know it is not good for our health,” she says.
Regionally, the HECS highlights sharp price disparities.
Firewood costs as low as TZS 800 per bundle in Lindi but reaches TZS 2,200 in Dar es Salaam and Tabora, driven by transport costs, deforestation pressures and regulatory controls.
Charcoal prices range widely, from TZS 1,700 per bucket in Ruvuma, Morogoro and Rukwa to as high as TZS 6,000 in Njombe.
LPG prices are relatively stable due to centralised distribution and regulation.
The national average stands at TZS 24,000 for a 6kg cylinder and TZS 56,000 for a 15kg cylinder.
However, regions such as Kagera, Mwanza, Katavi and Mara face higher prices for larger cylinders, largely because of transport costs and weaker distribution networks.
Against this backdrop, Tanzania’s Clean Cooking Agenda has taken centre stage.
Anchored in the 2024–2034 National Clean Cooking Strategy, the government aims to achieve 80 percent clean cooking adoption by 2034.
The strategy seeks to address health risks from indoor air pollution, environmental degradation caused by deforestation, and the heavy time burden—mostly borne by women—associated with collecting firewood.
Spearheaded by President Samia Suluhu Hassan, the initiative promotes LPG, electric cooking, biogas and other cleaner fuels.
It has attracted private sector investment, rolled out subsidised LPG cylinders—including 400,000 launched nationally—and introduced employee ambassadorship programmes through institutions such as TANESCO.
A nationwide communication campaign is also underway to shift public perception and encourage behavioural change.
Yet the experiences of Mzee Miraji, Katone and Asha reveal a critical truth: the transition to clean cooking is not only about technology, but about livelihoods, access and affordability.
For many rural households, firewood and charcoal are not just fuels—they are sources of income and economic security.
“If gas was closer and cheaper, many people would change,” Katone observes. “But as things are now, firewood and charcoal are still the main options.”
As evening falls in Ugunga village, Mzee Miraji prepares for another early morning walk.
His story, like that of millions of Tanzanians, underscores the complexity of the clean cooking transition.
Until modern energy solutions reach villages in ways that are affordable, accessible and reliable, the long walk for firewood will continue—fueling kitchens, livelihoods and a national debate on how to turn Tanzania’s clean cooking ambition into a lived reality for all.
