Sandbox
| Summary | Availability & Cost | Stoves/Appliances | Health, Safety and Environment | Opportunities | Limitations |
| Biomass and Biomass-based Fuels | |||||
| Wood | |||||
| Firewood is a traditional cooking fuel, culturally accepted in many contexts and the smoke produced from the burning of wood can flavour foods | - Firewood not always available to displaced communities
- Where readily available, firewood can be collected at high environmental cost and social cost (friction with the community, gender-based violence while collecting etc.) - Where demand for firewood is high and there is limited availability, cost can be relatively high - Firewood bans are becoming a popular tool to reduce deforestation - Where firewood bans are in place, it may be unavailable or relatively expensive as sold through the black market |
Stove Types:
- Three Stone Fire, Improved Mud Stove, Improved Cookstoves Availability and Costs: - Three stone fires are open fires and although they have no financial cost. - Improved mud stoves can be produced relatively cheaply where appropriate clay soils are readily available and thus, likely to achieve higher adoption. They provide Tier performance and have room for further efficiency improvement to achieve quality standards for clean cooking. (see MTF framework below).
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- Collection of firewood can put women and children at risk of sexual gender-based violence
- Cookstoves with a low tier of performance causes high levels of indoor air pollution and associated health concerns (e.g. respiratory diseases, eye irritation, etc.) - Cooking on open fire poses risk of burns and fires - Uncontrolled exploitation of firewood can lead to deforestation and environmental degradation - Competing demands for a limited resource can lead to friction between the host and displaced communities - In instances where biomass is non-renewably collected, improved cookstoves can contribute positively to climate change by reducing the emissions. |
- Improved cookstoves are more available than alternative clean cook stoves in most contexts
- Many commercially made improved cookstoves are more efficient than three-stone fires and some (Tier 4) also meet most of the international quality standards - Improved cookstoves have relatively lower price and higher uptake compared to alternative clean cookstoves |
- Most improved cookstoves do not meet the quality standard for clean cooking, particularly if used improperly
- Improved cookstoves are dependent on biomass fuel sources, many of which are unsustainably grown and collected - Handcrafted cookstoves cannot guarantee quality standards, and consequently it is impossible to quantify their impact - Although sustainably managed wood lots are possible, the size of the land required is generally prohibitive with regards to meeting the demands of a displaced community in its entirety (this includes households, businesses and institutions) |
| Summary | Availability & Cost | Stoves/Appliances | Health, Safety and Environment | Opportunities | Limitations |
| Biomass and Biomass-based Fuels | |||||
| Charcoal | |||||
| Charcoal is a traditional cooking fuel, culturally accepted in many contexts and the smoke produced from the burning of charcoal can flavour foods
Heat from the burning of charcoal is transferred through radiation (not convection as with firewood) so requires a different stove design from that associated to firewood stoves |
- Charcoal is not always available to displaced communities
- Where readily available, charcoal can be purchased relatively cheaply - Where demand for charcoal is high and there is limited availability, cost can be relatively high - Charcoal bans are becoming an increasingly popular tool to reduce deforestation (incl. In displacement settings) - Where charcoal bans are in place, it may be unavailable or relatively expensive as sold through the black market |
Stove Types:
- Traditional Charcoal Stove, Improved Cookstoves Availability and Costs: - Improved cookstoves can be produced locally or are available from international suppliers relatively cheaply, although generally costs increase as higher quality standards are achieved |
- Cookstoves with a low tier of performance can lead to high levels of indoor pollution and associated health concerns
- Use of charcoal stoves in poorly ventilated shelters can lead to death though the build-up of carbon monoxide - Uncontrolled production of charcoal can lead to deforestation and environmental degradation - In instances where charcoal is not produced in a sustainable manner, improved cookstoves can contribute to climate change |
- Improved cookstoves are widely available in most contexts | - Most improved cookstoves do not meet the quality standard for clean cooking, particularly if used improperly
- Improved cookstoves are dependent on biomass fuel sources, many of which are unsustainably collected - Handcrafted cookstoves cannot guarantee quality standards, and consequently it is impossible to quantify their impact - Although sustainably produced charcoal is possible, the size of the land required is generally prohibitive with regards to meeting the demands of a displaced community in its entirety |
| Summary | Availability & Cost | Stoves/Appliances | Health, Safety and Environment | Opportunities | Limitations |
| Biomass and Biomass-based Fuels | |||||
| Pellets/Briquettes | |||||
| Pellets and briquettes are the result of compacting loose biomass (including charred biomass) into a uniform product, which may require the addition of a binder, to achieve energy densification (less volume for the same amount of energy output) | - Pellets and briquettes may not be readily available in displacement contexts
- Pellets and briquettes may not be the cheapest source of cooking energy and may require some form of subsidy to make them an ‘affordable’ solution |
Stove Types:
Improved Cookstoves, Gasification Stove Availability and Costs: - Improved cookstoves can be produced locally or are available from international suppliers relatively cheaply, although generally costs increase as higher quality standards are achieved |
- Can produce less smoke than other biomass fuels but this is dependent on the raw materials, quality of production and the type of stove used | - There is an opportunity to use waste biomass or sustainable wood supplies to manufacture pellets and briquettes | - Pellets and briquettes can be difficult to light and be reused once extinguished
- Grant based small scale briquetting activities in displacement settings rarely result in meaningful impact and are only sustainable with ongoing grant commitments - May require the development of a supply chain to the displacement setting |
