THAT is news any business can use, isn’t it! Enterprises celebrate modest cost cuts of 15 per cent even 10 per cent. Now, to cut two thirds of costs – that is such a huge game changer.
That is news to put the competition on immediate life-support!
Some two decades ago, as Zambia Chamber of Small & Medium Business Associations (ZCSMBA), we ran two business development programmes Resource Ingenuity for Small Enterprises (RISE) and Costs Productivity & Environment (COPE).
These programmes focussed on improving productivity by optimizing costs and environment.
One of the participating enterprises was Mwanango Restaurant in Mufulira, Copperbelt.
This was a small eatery domiciled on Pempuleni Street, on the western end of Mufulira Central Business District (CBD).
It was a small establishment with a full-time staff of only three.
The major clientele were workers who would drop in for their lunch, and other people that were addicted to the famous Mwanango pie.
We moved in and examined the operations of the restaurant, immediately picking up one big problem area: energy consumption.
Mwanango used charcoal to prepare their meals – typical of most small restaurants throughout the country (true then, still true now).
This became our area of interest and focus.

They were using charcoal on the traditional brazier, like everybody else.
We moved in on this and proposed that they instead use Ziko – an improved brazier.

“Have you ever heard of it?”
“No!”
“This could cut your charcoal usage by more than half.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes! Would you like to try it?”
“Yes, by all means!”
We made the necessary arrangements for Mwanango Restaurant to acquire at least one Ziko brazier for a start.
We agreed to set an observation period of one week and the results were instant and spectacular.
From burning three bags of charcoal in a week, on the Ziko they burned only one!
And not only that, they were able to make thicker, more flavourful sauce and gravy because of the new brazier’s slow-cooking capability.
Not only did they cut their costs but also improved their product!
How was all this possible?
Let us look at the Ziko brazier – its design and how it operates.
The first prominent feature on the Ziko that is different from the traditional brazier is that it has a solid body.
Not a single hole in it.
Immediately you see it, you know it is not the usual piece of equipment.
Next, and also very different feature – is that it has a solid inlay of a thick layer of clay, giving it the appearance of a clay bowl squeezed into a silver bucket.
Yes, this does actually make it much heavier than the ordinary brazier – anything up to four times heavier.
Finally, at the bottom is a sliding hutch.
To cook on the Ziko, charcoal is placed in the clay bowl, which has some holes at the bottom.
The charcoal is set alight and cooking pot placed on a wire screen closing off the top of the brazier.
Depending on wind conditions and desired cooking outcome, the hutch at the bottom is adjusted to let in air at varying intensity.
For quicker, faster cooking, the hutch is opened all the way.
For slower cooking, the window is decreased as desired.
For real slow cooking, for instance when making thick sauce or gravy (bevla), the window is opened in just a tiny crack.
The traditional brazier has several disadvantages, all with a big negative impact on profit.
The first and most obvious of these is that, being very open, there are huge losses of energy – up to 66 per cent of the heat generated is lost to the atmosphere.
Only a third finds itself on the intended target.
Imagine buying fuel for your motor vehicle but 66 per cent of it leaks to the ground.
It is that terrible!
Other disadvantages are that you have only one “cooking gear.”
This is why you often see a frying pan or pot being lifted momentarily off the brazier when the heat gets “too much.”
Sometimes what is being cooked is even set aside for a while to allow the fire to die down a little – even more energy lost needlessly but expensively to the atmosphere.
Not least – the open brazier is quite a pollutant.
Fine ash particles will be flying out all the time.
On a windy day, this could even actually be a dense cloud of ash. When a lot of ash accumulates, the brazier is shaken, instantly releasing the ash into the air.
All these disadvantages, the Ziko brazier eliminates completely.
There is no heat energy loss to the air, cooking intensity can be controlled easily, and ash collects in the tray at the bottom of the brazier, to be removed easily any time desired and disposed of safely without polluting the air.
The Ziko also comes in the form of a braai stand.
Exactly same design, bringing the same huge savings!
If both domestic and commercial charcoal users switched to this improved design, there is an immediate cutting of costs by 66 per cent!
How about that?
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