Plot Summary

Kabwita, a young man living with his wife and daughters in Kolwezi, a town in the southwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo, dreams of buying land to build a house. To do so, he produces charcoal (makala), extracted from the ashes of a mighty hardwood tree. Carrying the sacks of charcoal on the back of his bicycle, he embarks on a dangerous journey to sell them on the market.