Hmm . . sounds like the money IS literally burned like “firewood”.
It’s what they use to cook with - they prefer the taste of food cooked over wood. We built a lot of really nice propane stoves in the new Army mess halls for them, and they would light a wood fire (inside the kitchen!), and cook their rice over it. Too bad we didn’t talk to them before we built all the bright shiny stuff...
Makes more sense, actually - they don’t have the infrastructure to develop and deliver propane to their bases on a regular schedule. Same with the diesel they run the power generators with.
There’s a whole pile of stuff you just can’t make up.