As a single mother with a 13-year-old son, Tafessu Jiru does not have a lot of kitchen scraps coming from her household. Most everything is put to prudent use.

With support from Global Impact member charity Mercy Corps and local organization Women in Self-Employment (WISE), Tafessu and some of her neighbors are finding a way to transform leftover potato skins and fruit peels into alternative fuel briquettes for use in home cooking and heating.

They are members of one of five female-led Savings and Credit Cooperatives, which are not only pulling their families out of poverty, but also helping save the environment at the same time.

In December 2007, Mercy Corps launched a new program to help entrepreneurs like Tafessu and her friends manage small businesses and manufacture the briquettes, which look and burn much like conventional charcoal, but give off less smoke and reduce dependency on already-scarce wood supplies.

The long-term goal of the project is that the business activities of these 30 women will succeed and expand, leading to more job opportunities for citizens of Addis Ababa—a city with a self-reported unemployment rate around 40 percent.

"I hope that my work will give hope to other women and set an example of how they can improve their current situation," Tafessu says. "My dream is for our new business to be a huge success so that I can support my entire family and make my son proud of his mother."