Vita
Environmentally friendly cookstoves
The overall goal of this project is to protect the local forestry while enhancing the social and economic well-being of rural communities in South Gonder, Amhara in the north-west of Ethiopia through the distribution of fuel efficient stoves. The project was implemented in six villages and 902 stoves distributed, transforming the lives of around 4,510 people, saving approximately 30,000 trees and planting an additional 20,000 trees within the first year.
The region is agro-ecologically diverse, containing the Simien Mountains and with Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile, lying at the centre. The area is highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change – 84% of the population depend on rain-fed agriculture for their livelihoods, and the region consistently reports poverty levels in excess of the national average.
The area is extremely depleted of trees, which in turn impacts on soil retention. This means that Lake Tana is suffering badly from excess sediment from soil run off. It has severely impacted the biodiversity of the lake, noted for its Nile Tilapia and Soft Shell Turtles, amongst other species. The surrounding wetlands have extremely fertile soil which needs to be restored and protected through tree conservation and planting. The lack of trees impacts negatively on biodiversity in the forests and wetlands, including falling bee populations as well as birds, baboons, Ibex and the severely endangered Ethiopian Wolf. Recalibrating the balance of man and nature through conservation and replanting of trees impacts every aspect of the health and well- being of the population of this part of Ethiopia.
The number one priority is to save the existing forestry. The trees are cut mainly for use as firewood in cookstoves. The traditional method of cooking - a circle of stones on the ground with a fire in the middle – is extremely inefficient. This programme is about introducing improved cookstoves in a community-led, scalable and cost effective way. These cookstoves are 60% more fuel efficient, and the programme encompasses tree-planting and as well as tree saving.
