Fixed stove success

Small changes in the kitchen can have big benefits for the environment.

One technique that CCPM partner Eagles Relief has been working on with programme participants in Balaka is the creation of simple, fixed fuel saving stoves.

Built into the side of a house with bricks and then covered with mud, this simple stove is much more efficient, not only reducing the amount of firewood needed to deforest the area for firewood, but also that less time spent collecting wood for cooking.

Participant Atupele Bomani says it is a huge improvement on the three stone stove she was using before.

“This one is the best. I’m not dreaming of going back to the stone stove - if it gets broken, I will repair it. It uses less firewood which means I’m contributing to conserving the environment.”

Gathering firewood for cooking is one of the main sources of deforestation in Malawi. The loss of trees damage the fertility of the soil and can increase soil erosion during heavy rains and flooding.

The stove also improves Atupele’s quality of life, “It cooks food faster, and because there are two holes you can cook two meals at the same time. I have much more time to spend with my family and grow vegetables in the garden.”

The new stove is covered which means there are fewer accidents and it produces much less soot inside the home than the three stone method.

More than thirteen hundred CCPM participants have now been trained in how to create and maintain different types of energy efficient cook stoves, a fact that delights Atupele.

“I want everyone here to be practising what we learned during the training. This is beneficial, so we should be doing it.”