Fuel-Efficient Stove $15

How this gift is green:

For many families who live on the plains of Tanzania, trees mean fuel. Most women rely on charcoal and wood-fired stoves to cook meals and boil water to make it safe for drinking. The traditional stoves are fuel intensive, with an uncovered flame and no chimney. The new design, which can be built locally, greatly reduces fuel consumption, improves safety for young children and clears the air of smoke.

The women comment that the greatest benefit of these stoves is the amazing reduction in time spent collecting firewood. With the project's help, some of the women have had time to join co-operative tree nurseries and are actively regenerating tree stocks in their region.

More information and images (pdf)

TEAR Australia supports development projects which focus on the poorest and most marginalised people and give priority to their rights, interests and initiatives. These projects are implemented in partnership with local agencies. One of the agencies building fuel-efficient stoves is the Buhemba Rural Agricultural Centre in Tanzania.

BRAC

Across north-west Tanzania, trees used to be a plentiful resource. The old people remember when their villages were surrounded by trees. Not so anymore. "We had to cut them down because we needed fuel for our fires, to cook our food," shares one man. His neighbour says, "We needed to make charcoal to sell to people in town, so that we could get some money."

The region has suffered environmental degradation due to population pressure, drought and poverty. The use of trees for fodder, charcoal production, cooking and building has led to desertification and the loss of an important resource.

Now, their land is virtually treeless. Only a few of the older ones remain, because they were too large to fell, or had a special meaning. A treeless landscape is a clear sign of a poor community. No-one had the resources and time to grow and plant trees. Immediate survival came first.

The Buhemba Rural Agricultural Centre (BRAC), a TEAR Australia partner, talked to the people in Tarani about their needs. Together, families decided what their top priorities were. Tree planting ranked in the top five - almost as important as clean water. Trees provide fuel for cooking fires.

The women explained that they walk long distances to get firewood, only to return with a small load on their heads, which lasts a few days. "It is always a long way to fetch firewood. We are very tired when we get home. Then we need to walk to the creek and back which takes another two hours. Then we cook a meal." BRAC recognised that the community could improve their use of fuel in two ways: by planting more trees, and by using more efficient stoves.

A new design for cooking stoves has been introduced into the communities - this uses half the amount of firewood. BRAC has been training villagers to build the fuel-efficient stoves using local materials, and many families are saving to buy the cement to put a nice finish on their stove.The stoves are an improvement on several fronts. They reduce the need for firewood and so protect trees in the region. They reduce the workload for women, who have halved the time they spend collecting wood. They are safer for young children, who might otherwise fall into or touch the open flames of the old stoves. And the chimneys remove the smoke from the homes, greatly improving respiratory illness and preventing related health problems such as eye infections.

OTHER TEAR AUSTRALIA PARTNERS PROVIDING THIS ITEM:

ACK CCS Nakuru (Kenya), United Mission to Nepal.