Ethiopia uses ethanol stoves to reduce deforestation, reduce air pollution and improve health!

[JohnWxy]

One of the major causes of deforestation (and desertification in semi-arid regions) is the use of trees and shrubs for firewood and to make charcoal (for sale) . This causes deforestation and in semi-arid lands exacerbates desertification (a big concern in sub-Saharan Africa).

In the underdeveloped world most rural people use wood or cow dung for cooking. They are thus exposing themselves to high levels of indoor air pollution and adding to the problem of GHG emissions. THe indoor air pollution presents health problems over time for these people.

Ethiopia (and other sub-Saharan African nations) are exploring the use of ethanol-gel fueled stoves which dramatically reduce the pollution the users are exposed to and GHG emissions and at the same time reduces the harvesting of local trees which contributes to desertification.



http://www.unhcr.org/4849626d2.html


The partnership between the UN refugee agency and an environmental organization has helped to slow deforestation, curb sexual and gender-based violence, reduce indoor air pollution and ease friction between refugees and locals in a corner of Ethiopia.

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Since starting the project in 2005, the Gaia Association has supplied the clean and safe Swedish-designed CleanCook stoves to every family in Kebribeyah camp as well as other refugee families in eastern Ethiopia, which has seen an influx of refugees from Somalia since 1991. The camp hosts 17,000 refugees.

The stoves help reduce the amount of fuel wood that each family needs to collect by nearly four tonnes a year. The ethanol is produced from molasses, a by-product of the local sugar industry, whose disposal previously caused water pollution. UNHCR and Gaia distribute a litre of fuel a day to each family.

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"Before I received the stove three years ago, I gathered fuel wood outside the camp two or three times a week, leaving my house at sunrise and returning in the afternoon," recalled Habiba Ali Oumer, who has been a refugee in the camp since 1992.

She had to cook for 15 people in a poorly ventilated shelter, which soon filled up with smoke. "More worrying to me, however, was the danger we faced while collecting wood," she said, adding that her 18-year-old daughter narrowly escaped being raped while out foraging for firewood.

"Barely six months after I started using the stove, life has become much easier and I do not miss a single class at school," said fellow refugee, Furdosa Mohammed, 17, who was born in the camp. When she had to gather wood, she missed school regularly and is now trying to catch up.

"The clean energy, safe energy programme at Kebribeyah has restored the dignity of women and girls whose task it was previously to gather fuel wood with all of the associated risks," said Ilunga Ngandu, UNHCR's regional liaison office representative.
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This was reiterated by UNHCR Environment Officer Amare Gebre Egziabher, who has played an important role in the project. "We estimate that 90 to 95 percent of the pressure on the environment has been lifted in this arid and semi-arid region." He said this meant less friction over scarce resources between refugees and host communities.
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Gaia Association-Ethiopia’s CleanCook Stove Tests in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia


For the last two years Gaia Association (GA) has been collecting indoor air pollution
(IAP) data under the guidance of University of California–Berkeley’s Center for
Entrepreneurship in International Health and Development (CEIHD). High levels of IAP
contribute to a myriad of health issues. These high levels of IAP are prevalent in the
homes of Addis Ababa, largely as a result of the burning of solid biomass fuels and
kerosene for cooking.

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The Gaia Association initiative (Project Gaia Research Studies) was created over four
years ago with the purpose of promoting alcohol fuels for household and refugee use in
Ethiopia. The association seeks to replace existing traditional fuels such as firewood,
kerosene, charcoal, and dung, which have been shown to produce soot and other products
of incomplete combustion that are harmful to human health. The vehicle for this change
is the CleanCook stove, which is fueled in this study by ethanol.
Gaia Association over the last several years has formed strong partnerships within the
Addis Ababa NGO community. The tests that were performed were done in collaboration
with our partner organizations. A total of five samples were taken from the Good
Shepherd Sisters Charities in the Kirkos Sub-City of Addis Ababa. The mission of the
Good Shepherd Charities is to aid the poor and destitute of Addis Ababa. Their outreach
programs focus on meeting the needs of women and children that face the hardships of
poverty. The tests were performed in households that are associated with this
organization.

The other four samples were taken at the Former Fuelwood Carriers Association in the
Yeka Sub-City of Addis Ababa. The mission of the Former Fuelwood Carriers
Association is to offer new income generating activities to women who were once solely
dependent on the gathering of fuelwood. Gaia Association has partnered with this
organization for the past two years to gain valuable data on the effectiveness of the
CleanCook stove.

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The average PM concentration in the kitchens was reduced after the households began
using the CC stove (from 640 to 230 ug/m3), a very significant improvement in indoor air
quality, despite the fact that kerosene or solid fuels were still being burned in secondary
stoves. Thus, the households moved closer to the WHO interim target-1 of 75 ug/m3 for
PM2.5 (and the Air Quality Guideline of 25 ug/m3) in the After phase. The average CO
kitchen concentration in the charcoal and kerosene stove case (Before) was 28.2 mg/m3
and dropped to 6.8 mg/m3 with the CC stove, below the WHO guideline of 10 mg/m3.
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The reductions in Particulate Matter averaged 64%
The reductions of CO2 averaged 76%

[elocs]

1. How about solar ovens because sunshine is free?

http://www.sunoven.com/international/ngo-programs.php

SUN OVENS International, Inc. has developed successful project models that incorporate the use of solar cooking into programs to improve the lives of people in the developing world. Most of the challenges of implementing a solar cooking project are more cultural then they are technical in nature. The ovens themselves have been designed to overcome some of the cultural challenges, but the involvement of a local NGO/PVO that understands the needs and the customs of the women using the ovens is absolutely essential to any projects success.

SUN OVENS International is looking to form working relationships with NGOs and PVOs in regions of the world that are blessed with an abundance of sunshine to develop and implement projects.

Third World Poverty

SUN OVENS® can be utilized in sustainable programs in the following areas:

Deforestation prevention
Expanding women’s capacities to transform conditions
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
GLOBAL SUN OVEN® Assembly plants
Micro-enterprise
Orphanage programs
Refugee operations

All you need is sun. Giant solar ovens can bake the bread for the entire village. Solar ovens can also be used to boil water to make it safer to drink. I've used a Sun oven for years now and have baked bread, cake, cookies, made rice, baked chicken and made pork roast. About the only thing that cannot be baked is a pizza because it requires too high of a temperature. Fresh fish that are caught ice fishing in the waters of northern Minnesota in the dead of winter can be baked there if there is sunshine regardless of the air temperature.

[JohnWxy]

2. This is also being tried in INdia. One obvious limitation for teh solar stove is that the sun has

to be out. - in India during monsoon season this might be a problem.

While the sunlight is free it didn't mention the cost of the solar-oven. The Ethanol stoves run about $20-$25 each at (still) a very low volume of production.

atrticle states: "Most of the challenges of implementing a solar cooking project are more cultural then they are technical in nature."

I read about an earlier attempt to provide better stoves to people which failed for this very reason. It required some adaptation and changing ways of doing their cooking. I'm thinking women are going to prefer to cook in their homes - where they actually are probably doing more than just cooking such as watching kids, and other tasks at the same time. How many families would be able to use a communal stove. I can foresee scheduling problems - people do tend to prepare meals at roughly the same time. People will be willing to make adjustments but only up to a point.


But still, try every technology available. See what works. It may turn out to be a mix of both.