20% of urban households in Zimbabwe rely on biomass, mostly firewood or derivatives of firewood. Charcoal makes up over 50% of biomass energy used in urban areas for cooking due to its high energy density and easy storage properties. However, conventional charcoal is made using cut down trees, most of the trees are harvested illegally from natural forests. For instance, the Muzarabani natural forest clearing which the Zimbabwe forestry commission has been trying to combat for decades without success. This problem will not naturally disappear unless a sustainable replacement for conventional charcoal is found because there’s clearly a huge demand in energy that’s encouraging uncontrolled natural forest deforestation. Xero Charcoal is made from sawdust, a waste of the forestry and timber industry in the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe. This is a well-regulated and monitored industry, which makes the timber harvesting regenerative and sustainable. Hence the use of charcoal made from controlled commercial logging waste relieves pressure on natural forests and improves energy access by low-income earners due to low costs of production.