Now this is something to be proud of...

From CNN:

Impoverished citizens of the Caribbean nation have long been lacking in many regards -- from overarching aims like fostering prosperity, health and stability to more mundane things such as electricity and appliances.

Even wood is in short supply, leaving many reliant on possibly toxic, often ineffective briquettes made from waste paper to cook.

The latter issue got the attention of Amy Smith and her cohorts at the D-Lab, a hands-on and instructional program dedicated to using engineering and technology to improve lives in the developing world.

Given that challenge, the D-Lab's engineers began sifting through -- and burning -- garbage. They ultimately settled on sugar cane, a common crop in Haiti.

"Sugar cane [waste] works well because it's not used for anything else [and] there's no real nutritional value for it," said Smith. "And the charcoal that it produces is pretty good."

Even better yet:

The engineers were able to create a charcoal that could be produced easily and at low cost.

Traditional charcoal is available in Haiti but, like kerosene, is prohibitively expensive. A bag that lasts about 45 days costs about $70 Haitian dollars, but most adults do not make more than a few $100 per month, if that, according to Smith.

There's even an earlier article from July.

And in India they are working on a process that uses cane leaves to create cooking energy.