“Improved cook stoves for sustainable climate change"

Project aims at reducing the impact of climate change through use of the improved cook stoves which consume less firewood.

The project which will be implemented in Karonga district in Malawi, aims at reducing the impact of climate change as people will adopt improved and sustainable environmental management skills through planting of trees, use of the improved cook stoves which consume less firewood and improved farming activities. In addition, the project will help to reduce the rate at which carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere in the sense that less use of firewood entails less gas (smoke) emission. Women, the elderly, disabled and children are the worst victims as they are much exposed to fire which negatively affect their health. Again, women and children are highly used by families in fetching firewood making them strong agents contributing to climate change. The project seeks to increase awareness and participation of these groups in climate change impact mitigation by ensuring that over fifty percent of those to be trained on construction of the improved cook stoves and members of the task force which will exist for sustainability of the project and tackling other climate change issues shall be women and the youth.

The project fits with the 2020 targets of 2 million households adopting stoves by covering these main focus areas:

Poverty reduction: this is divided into two sectors, namely

• Economic impacts on users-who benefit from reduction of time spent on their monthly firewood collections and time spent on cooking, thus using this time on agricultural productivity and on other income generating activities.
• Economic benefits producers-source of income to their respective families thus using this income to buy food, household utensils, fertilizers, clothes, school fees and medication.

Health-improved cook stoves come along with a significant reduction of smoke and thereby reduction of indoor air pollution

Gender Empowerment:

• Women experience less or reduction of smoke as well as indoor air pollution

• Women also produce stoves thus making these women benefit for the economic achievement of their stoves business, which leads them to gain social prestige and empowerment
• Women’s workload in term of firewood collection is reduced using the improved stoves.

Education:

• Girls and boys save time in firewood collection which can be spent on homework or studies

Environmental sustainability: the dissemination of the cook stoves contributes to the protection of natural wood sources by reducing forests degradation caused by cook fuel removal.

The organization will promote three types of stoves thus giving users a wide choice. As such households that may not like one particular design may/will have their preferences catered for in another designs. The project will also raise awareness of the importance of sustainable forest management, learning about environmental protection; techniques for reforestation and crop diversification to relieve pressure on forest degradation; and pollution prevention of the principal watershed of the protected area. The increased awareness will motivate participants to rehabilitate the forest. Giving priority to reforestation along the hills where mining was taking place, the community will manage to have communal and household wood lots.

The solution is innovative in the sense that it is a process of solving challenges of deforestation due to reliance on firewood for cooking and slow adoption and limited utilization of firewood improved cook stoves.The current stoves are perceived as unsuitable for some users` specific cooking needs because of limited end-user consultation during stove design. This result in slow adoption as people do not use the current stoves extensively, rather they still use traditional inefficient stoves for cooking some meals.

The solution is integral because the project aims at reducing the impact of climate change to a reasonable rate as people will adopt improved and sustainable environmental management skills through planting of trees, use of the improved cook stoves which consume less firewood.In addition, the project will help to reduce the rate at which carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere in the sense that less use of firewood entails less gas (smoke) emission.

The aim of this project is to promote and adopt the usage of  energy efficient cook stoves in Malawi, with a focus on rural areas. The efficient stoves will reduce the volume of fuel wood required by a household, hence reducing
deforestation as well as limiting the release of noxious gases that have
adverse health effects.

Our vision is to see that most communities have adopted the improved cook stoves and achieve the following:

• Reduce health problems associated with indoor air pollution
• Positive effects on the environment through deceleration of deforestation.
•  Less fuel consumption due to use of ICS reduces time spent in collecting firewood by 42% to 50% and also expenditures on firewood purchases (Malinski, 2008).
• ICS users generate an additional time to be spend on income generating activities such as farming, invest into small scale businesses and others.

We will reach out and retain our customers through:

Community involvement in design, planning; the targeted communities have been and are being adequately involved in the planning and design of this project. Communities have been made aware of the challenges before them and effects these challenges have on their livelihoods.

Implementation; largely, the implementation of this project lies with the community members who best know their plight. Outside support will only be in form of technical and material support and skills training by technical expert.

The increased awareness will motivate participants to rehabilitate the forest.

There are no people being currently served.

However, by the end of the twelve months, we will serve over 450,000 people.The project minimum target of stoves to be adopted is over 2000 .The organization will promote three types of stoves thus giving users a wide choice. As such households or customers that may not like one particular design may/will have their preferences catered for in another designs.

The project expects to serve 2000 people in 12 months and reached out to over 2000 people in the next 3 years.

Our team is composed of personnel with skills and experiences in project management, business management and resource mobilization skills.

Our model is to identify  50 trainers of trainees (TOTs) who will be responsible for instructing households in construction of improved cook stoves: the project will conduct a  TOTs of artisans in the  construction of improved cook stoves and entrepreneurship skills.

Entrepreneurs will be part of the designing and planning how their business model will work and create value in the market.  

We are applying to Solve because Solve's entire purpose is to help bring solutions to important issues.

My solution would grow quicker thanks to Solve since the entire solution itself rests on support from the private sector and other interested partners. Such resources are what makes Solve an incredible opportunity and it is why my solution would be advanced the furthest in a shorter time frame with Solve rather than approaching these same communities differently.

There are two clear barriers that need to be hurdled over in order to get from idea to reality.

1. conflicts among local communities arising from enforcement of by-laws that will regulate cultivation in fragile areas such as stream banks, steep slopes, and riverbeds; stopping unsustainable forest harvesting for charcoal production

2. Another risk is the lack of willingness to adopt new ways of doing things. E.g. appreciating fuel saving cook stoves