Low Smoke Stoves in Darfur
Low Smoke Stoves in Darfur
The Problem
This project is located in an area of Sudan where climate change, drought and desertification are already a fact of life. According to the World Health Organization, indoor smoke from burning solid fuels can expose women and young children to pollution 100 times higher than acceptable levels. Many improved cookstoves are associated with reduced smoke, which can lessen exposure to indoor air pollution.
The Solution
The Darfur Low-Smoke Stoves Project demonstrates how carbon finance can improve livelihoods. This project provides families in North Darfur with an opportunity to replace their traditional wood and charcoal fires with modern, energy efficient and clean-burning liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cook stoves. The project has proven popular with low-income households, and the project team has plans to replicate the model elsewhere in the country to bring the benefits of clean energy to tens of thousands more families.
Participating households sign up to a microfinance initiative funded by Carbon Clear and managed by a local community group, the Women’s Development Association. The microfinance programme provides loans for families who otherwise would not be able to afford the relatively high initial cost of the LPG stove. Training to run the microfinance programme has also helped the women’s group develop the capacity to launch other initiatives.
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Impact and Benefits
- 11,700 stoves distributed to date
- Reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Each stove distributed avoids about 4 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions per year and reduces twice the amount of GHG emissions compared to more efficient biomass stoves.
- Almost 100% acknowledge air quality is drastically improved
- 93% of women have more time to work which generates additional income for their families
- 83% of households have cleaner kitchens
- 71% of women said they have more free time to spend with families
- 78% of husbands getting involved in cooking activities
- In 2017, the project saved around 24,000 tonnes of wood
- Low smoke liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stoves reduce indoor air pollution
- Slow the rate of deforestation by replacing biomass with LPG. For every 10 trees cut down in Sudan, only two are regrown
- Empower women and reduce gender inequality by training women entrepreneurs to deliver the stoves through microfinance schemes. Using LPG also reduces the time spent cooking and collecting fuel
- Alleviate poverty by enabling energy savings