Melia volkensii commonly known as Mukau is an well known indigenous tree species in the plant family Meliaceae growing naturally in the semiarid zones of Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania and Kenya.Melia volkensii mechanical properties are compared with mahogany (Khaya species), teak (Tectona grandis) and mvule (Milicia excelsa)

Wood energy provides 70% of Kenya’s national energy needs and it is expected to continue as the country’s main source of energy for the foreseeable future. Wood is the standard cooking fuel for the majority of Kenyan households and also an important energy source for small-scale rural industries. Past studies on supply demand balance of woodfuel have shown a deficit. To address this deficit there is need for a comprehensive wood energy plan with implementation strategies which ensure its sustainable production. This paper outlines some of the strategies that need to be put in place for a sustainable woodfuel production. The strategies are both supply and demand oriented which are aimed at either increasing the supply or reducing the demand. The supply strategies include; enhancing on-farm tree planting, efficient management of rangelands and woodlands, development of fuelwood plantations by Kenya Forest Service. The demand oriented strategies include ; reducing demand through promotion of more efficient cooking stoves and charcoal conversion kilns, use of alternative sources of energy other than wood. Other strategies include formulation of woodfuel policies that enhances decentralized sustainable wood energy planning at all levels. The later can only be achieved if the wood energy institutional framework is strengthened and facilitated to collect wood energy data to be used in national energy planning alongside the conventional fuels that are currently given more emphasis. The decentralized wood energy planning is important as the strategies to be used for sustainable woodfuel production may vary from one region to the other

Abstract
Kenya generates about 1.6 million tones of sugarcane bagasse which has enormous
potential for exploitation in modern commercial applications. Due to rising fossil
fuel prices, availability in large quantity and rapidly growing interest in bio-energy
as well as technological advances and environmental concerns , bagasse could be
utilized for the formulation of charcoal briquettes for household use to
supplement wood charcoal. In this study briquettes were formulated using
carbonized bagasse, clay as a binder and molasses as a filler. Bagasse was obtained
from sugar factories for carbonization. Carbonization was carried out using a
brick-built kiln while blending used a manually operated drum mixer. A piston type
briquetting press fitted onto a universal strength testing machine was used for the
production of briquettes. The most optimum parameters that produced briquettes
which complied to current charcoal specifications for household use were in the
ratio of 1:1:40 for molasses, clay and carbonized bagasse respectively at
0.50N/mm2 pressure. At this formulation, briquettes were produced whose ash
content, volatile matter and calorific energy were 36.4%, 27.2% and 4.390 Kca/g
respectively. The briquettes produced burnt without sparks and were smokeless,
producing no irritating smell. They ignited easily and took relatively long before
they extinguished. They were recommended for household use in Kenya.

For structural use, the properties of large size specimens are preferred to those of small clear specimens because of unavoidable defects such as knots and shakes found in wood. The objective of this study was to assess the bending strength, modulus of elasticity properties and failure behaviour of ten Lesser-used Species (LUS) by use of structural size dimensions (50mm x 120 mm x 2000 mm). The ten species were Albizia ferruginea, (Gulland Perr) Beuth., Sterculia rhinopetala,(K. Schum), Blighia sapida,(Koenig), Canarium schweinfurthii (Engl.), Petersianthus macrocarpus, (P. Beauv.) Liben, Sterculia oblonga, (Mast.) Cola gigantea, (A.Chev.) Celtis zenkeri, (Engl.) Antiaris toxicaria (Lesch.) and Amphimas pterocarpoides (Harms.). The moisture contents of the 10 timber species used ranged from 16.1% (Antiaris toxicaria) to 51.0% (Albizia ferruginea). It was observed during loading under flexure that the elastic stiffness and rate of increase in the strength capacity of the beams did not change after three cycles of loading and unloading. All the beams failed in a form of tension rupture. The breaks were usually splintering tension failure or brittle (brashness) tension failure or a combination of the two modes
of failure. Sterculia rhinopetala exhibited the highest bending strength with a 5th percentile bending strength of 56.8 ,/mm2 and a mean local modulus of elasticity of 15,973 ,/mm2. Sterculia oblonga was also found to be the 2nd best in terms of material properties with a 5th percentile bending strength of 52.1 ,/mm2 and a mean local modulus of elasticity of 16,408 ,/mm2. Celtis zenkeri which had the highest mean local modulus of elasticity, however, had the 6th best 5th percentile bending strength of 39.9 ,/mm2. A good linear correlation (69.6-91.3%) was established between mechanical strength properties for average density, average bending strength, average local modulus of elasticity and average global modulus of elasticity.