Comparative Cost of Cooking Fuels in the three Northern Regions of Ghana
Over eighty six percent (86%) of households use woodfuel for cooking and heating, and the rest use LPG, kerosene, electricity and crop residue. Prices for charcoal, firewood, LPG, electricity, agricultural residues or kerosene fuels vary from place to place and the main components of the price structure of these fuels are the retailer purchase price, transport, taxes and selling price.

Construction of Improved Household Mud Stove
With clay, three stones (the stones serve as pillars) and water, an improved household mud stove was constructed. A small amount of rice straw, when added to the clay, enhances the strength of the improved mud stove. It takes between three to four hours to construct and a few days to completely dry and ready for use. This improved stove cooks faster, does not produce smoke and consumes less firewood compared to the traditional mud stove or three stone stove.

Gender Aggregated Needs Assessment of Charcoal Producers
Charcoal processing is carried out mainly by the informal sector including women and children. The competition among women and children during wood collection, for the production of charcoal, has no respect for age or size; it is survival of the fittest. The site is seriously polluted by smoke from the open burning sawdust from the sawmill. The women and children work at the site without protective clothing. The fumes from the sawdust mixes with the smoke from both the burning sawdust heap and the charcoal processing smoke together with the black soot from the sifting of charcoal.

Identification and Assessment of Best Practices for Charcoal Production in Ghana
Almost all the charcoal in Ghana is produced by the traditional earth mound method, which requires no capital investment. The primary disadvantages are that earth mound kilns are hard to control, susceptible to the elements and have generally very low yields with unpredictable charcoal quality. Several improved charcoal production methods with resulting higher yields are available, but have one factor in common in that they require some capital investment in equipment and some training of operators to utilize the kilns efficiently.

The Revised National Woodfuel Policy
The national woodfuel policy seeks to promote the woodfuel business as a sustainable enterprise to address poverty, redistribute wealth and ensure that the exploitation of our wood resources for energy purposes is done in an environmentally friendly, renewable and sustainable manner by setting up of an institutional and financial framework for the woodfuel sector, promoting the sustainable supply and production of woodfuel, promoting the efficient woodfuel conversion technologies and the improvement of the woodfuel transportation and marketing system.