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• reforestation
• efficient cooking stoves

EFFICIENT COOKING STOVES

CLEVEL and our clients are now funding a new compensation projects that will help reduce CO2 emissions and provide communities with long term cash savings and health benefits.  

The UPESI PROJECT is to provide ‘energy technology’ compensation through the making and use of efficient cooking stoves. The project concentrates on cooking stoves made by pottery cooperatives, that reduce fuelwood use and indoor smoke pollution.  It is underway in Kenya, with International Charity Practical Action - founded in 1966, as ITDG (the Intermediate Technology Development Group), by the radical economist Dr EF Schumacher to prove that his philosophy of ‘Small is Beautiful’ could bring real and sustainable improvements to people’s lives.
Practical Action aims to demonstrate and advocate the sustainable use of technology to reduce poverty.  They are also running programmes specifically to assist those most affected by climate change impact in the majority world.

In many countries in Africa the main source of fuel for cooking is wood, burnt on an open fire. This causes excessive smoke and a massive health problem, particularly for women and children who spend more time in the kitchens.  It is a key global health issue identified as a priority for action by the World Health Organisation. 

A lack of enclosure around the fire and a lack of mass to store heat makes open fire cooking inefficient, with more wood being burnt.  Wood is a limited resource and is becoming harder to collect, more costly to buy and is linked to regional deforestation. 

The project’s upesi stoves are simple but effective and replace traditional cooking on rocks. Reduced CO2 emissions from burning and reduced pressure on remaining forests are key benefits, but the project is also tailored to reach people who would not otherwise buy and install these stoves.  This is being achieved by distributing the new stoves to vulnerable groups facing extreme poverty in the stove making areas.  This, combined with CLEVEL 100% funding, will achieve the projects strong additionality.

CLEVEL is also supporting an efficient stoves project in Cambodia.  90 % of the Cambodian population depend daily on fuel-wood for cooking purposes. This dependency has increased considerably in recent years. As a consequence, forest resources are seriously threatened. The objective of the project is to reduce charcoal and thereby fuel wood consumption by introducing improved Lao cook stoves in Cambodia.

Apart from avoiding CO2 emissions by reduced wood and charcoal consumption, the project contributes to Sustainable Development in many ways. All three aspects of sustainability are promoted; the environmental, the social and the economic side. As far as environmental sustainability is concerned, the major gain is the avoidance of overexploitation of the forests. Thus the forest resources are protected and biodiversity is conserved. An improvement in social sustainability is achieved  through reductions in smoke, ime saved in collecting fuel and improved access to energy for the poorer members of the community.

Finally, lack of economic sustainability is tackled. Firewood supply costs are reduced, small-scale
businesses such as stove producers and retailers are consolidated, and in some cases jobs are created.