KULIMA: Empowering Communities with Improved Cookstoves in Boane, Mozambique

Introduction

The Empowering Communities II project is implemented by the Organization for Integrated Socio-Economic Development (KULIMA) and others (Adel Sofala and Livaningo)in Maputo, Inhambane, Gaza, Sofala and Manica provinces in Mozambique.

• Project period: 2015- ongoing (last updated in 2022)
• Stakeholders: Local associations, Local government, municipal council, and families
• Funding: Financial support from Naturvernforbundet/NORAD for the project activiites and households also contribute for services of the local activists and use of construction materials (for making the cookstoves).

Context and proposed solution

Mozambique has a population of around 28 million inhabitants, of whom about 80% live in rural areas and have biomass as the main source of energy. About 75% of the energy consumed in the country comes from woody biomass. Forests, farmlands, lakes, and other habitats are affected by fires, storms, and droughts, and nearly all landscapes are affected by human-induced pressures such as pollution, climate change and deforestation. These disturbances will directly and indirectly affect the livelihoods of communities, for example through reduced production, access to firewood and other resources. Degraded ecosystems reduce the ability of the communities dependent on them to withstand shocks and short-term disturbances as well as gradual but continuous changes in the climate and socio-cultural practices and institutions. The woody fuel resource has also become scarce due to widespread deforestation and black smoke pollution has been the cause of many diseases and deaths.

Project Description

Kulima is promoting both fixed stoves with chimneys as well as mobile stoves. Both the stoves are built with local material (clay) and fixed stove uses firewood as fuel while the mobile ones use charcoal or firewood. The fixed/mobile stoves are efficient and keeps black smoke out of the kitchen; save charcoal or firewood, emit little smoke and are not harmful to health like traditional stoves. Those kind of stoves saves 60-70% of the used fuel. The fixed stoves with chimney are manufactured by locally trained activists in the kitchens of the families while the mobiles stoves are produced by producers trained by Kulima.

Community Involvement

The” Empowering communities” project addresses clean cooking at community level. Local leaders mobilize citizens, collect lists of households signing up for an improved stove, gather financial contributions from each household to cover the raw materials, and identify local activists that are willing to participate in the construction work required after training. With collective efforts, affordable fixed clay stoves with chimneys are built for everyone with a roofed kitchen. Mobile stoves are promoted for those without kitchen or still waiting to have the fixed stoves. Kulima has been working for one year in Boane with awareness raising, training local activists in production of fixed improved clay stoves with chimneys and providing technical assistance during construction and use. Kulima has established various sales points for selling the mobiles stoves. After one year, 3,365 households in Boane have converted to improved stoves and no longer use the three stone cookstoves.

For the fixed stove with chimney, beneficiaries are households in communities who are vulnerable from climate changes and harmful cooking practices in rural districts. Promotion of the fixed stoves with chimney in an integrated part of a community project for increased resilience that also includes natural resource management, saving and loan groups and solar systems for basic access to electricity.

The community mobilization is done in coordination with the local leader and government during the communities’ meetings to explain the advantages of using these kind of stoves. Then the local activists and project staff continues door-to-door advocacy to convince beneficiaries to use the cookstoves.

For the fixed stoves with chimneys, Kulima collaborates with local leaders and government to held community meetings to explain the advantages of using these kind of stoves. Then the local activists and Kulima project staff do door-to-door advocacy to convince beneficiaries to use the stoves.

The mobile stoves are distributed by the sales points, energy stores, the local activists, and women groups and the local activists.

Operation and maintenance

The end users are trained in the correct usage of the stove when they start to use the stove. Also, during the monitoring activities a follow-up training is done. For mobile stoves, the sales points are trained in the correct usage, and they train the customers when they come to buy.

All families with a new stove receive advice on use and maintenance. Clay for regular maintenance and repair is available freely in the community.

=After sales service (repair, replacement and sustainability)

The Repair services are free during the warranty period established where a replacement of the plate made in the clay. The long-term sustainability of the stoves is guaranteed as they are made in local material with the local activists and local producers.

Financing options for consumers

For the fixed stoves with chimneys, the beneficiaries pays a small amount of 100 MZN to the mason who builds the stove as well as to cover the cost of the chimney sheet. Kulima provides good quality the clay and organizes all the work of community mobilization. Some families with special needs are supported with free material and services from the community or the project.

Impacts on the Community

With a community approach in close cooperation with local leaders it is possible to phase out use of three-stone cooking in a community at large. Use of locally produced clay stoves offer convenient and most important, affordable solutions. Use of local activists ensure local ownership and competence needed to maintain the stoves.

In Boane, a District in Mozambique with around 134.006 people, more than 65 % live in poverty and depend on firewood for cooking. Kulima introduced improved stoves in 2021. The improved stoves are highly valued, first and foremost for fuel savings. Monitoring shows a fuel saving at around 60-70 % compared to 3-stone cooking. In an improved stove, 1-3 logs are enough to keep the fire running in the insulated chamber. Increased combustion temperature eliminates most of the smoke, and the rest escapes through the chimney. This is a substantial improvement compared to the traditional three-stone stove that needs 4-10 wood logs to burn properly and where heat and smoke go in all directions. Wood consumption is reduced by 60 - 70 %.

Fuel saving gives substantial economic saving and/or less time spent on collection of wood. According to interviews with families using an improved wood stove, the time saved is mostly used for income generating activities. Additional income and money saved on fuel is mostly used for improved diet, hygienic articles, and school materials.

Among users that have left the three-stone stove, 98 per cent say that they previously had experienced severe negative health impacts from the smoke. After half a year with an improved clay stove with chimney, 97 per cent reported that the health impact is substantially reduced or eliminated. Improved health adds to the ability to run other income generating activities.

The stoves make the kitchen cleaner, and many have used the opportunity to improve kitchen management.

In Boane District, it has been built 2795 fixed stoves with chimney, benefiting 2795 families and 13975 persons from June to December 2021 and sold in the target communities 570 mobiles stoves for 510 families and 2850 persons. 5 Sales agents have boosted their businesses and the main part of local and government is using the stoves. The above families have saved half of the money of buying fuel and time from going to find the firewood that they use in other activities.

Constraints and Recommendations The main challenges we faced are the following: - For families to quit traditional stoves (three stones) or other traditional and inefficient stoves, it takes time, and they need practical demonstrations. This is being solved by regular mobilizations, intervention of the local leader and government during the community’s meetings, distribution of awareness material, practical demonstration with improved stoves in influence families and use of media and the communities’ radios.

- The lack of habit in the communities to cover the kitchens means that the fixed stoves must be built in the covered kitchens so that the rain does not destroy them. For the families without covered kitchens, they buy the mobile stoves while they wait to cover their kitchens.

-During the rainy times, it is very difficult to extract the clay and we use to provide much clay to communities when we approach the rainy season.

COVID related constraints Specific challenges due to COVID (funding, low purchasing power…)? If yes, (how) did you overcome it (wherever applicable)?

The Covid-19 impacted the mobilization activities due to the restrictions set by the health authorities as meeting were realized with reduced persons, not more than 20 persons and families has low purchasing power as businesses were not going very well and they were closing very early.