The ordinary ethics of charcoal in northern Madagascar

Charcoal producers are among the most frequently maligned entrepreneurs in Madagascar, often singled out in conservation reports and targeted in conservation measures as enemies of the island's threatened forests and ecosystems. And yet charcoal remains an important cooking fuel and thus a primary energy commodity for many people on the island. This essay addresses the ordinary ethics of charcoal production and consumption in northern Madagascar, focusing especially on how these processes are fundamental to an artisanal' energy system that involves people and engages them with one another in distinctive ways.