The Crisis: Environmental and Health Implications
Burning non-renewable biomass remains a prevalent method for cooking for many parts of the world, including Somalia where approximately 80-90% of households rely on open fires and biomass stoves to cook their food. Due to these cooking methods often having low efficiency, they tend to burn through fuel quickly; this leads to contributing to deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. Not only does this negatively effect global warming, but it can compromise respiratory health and indoor air pollution.
The Solution: Cleaner Cookstoves for a Brighter Future
By contributing to Ecologi’s funding for this project, we’re able to help families transition to BURN’s JIKOKOA, the most fuel-efficient biomass stoves available today. By introducing this alternative, charcoal consumption is reduced by 64%, in turn preventing further deforestation whilst cutting indoor air pollution by 65%. By replacing the old and in with the new cookstoves, there’s a distinct reduction in particulate matter pollution and decreased household carbon monoxide levels – a huge win for health and safety and the environment.
With the new cookstoves, Somalian families have reported less illness and lower costs. These health benefits and time savings are helping us combat gender inequities, improve quality of life, and save trees.
The Ripple Effect: Ongoing Improvements
- Empowering women and children: cleaner cookstoves improve efficiency, minimising the time women and children have to spend cooking and allows for more time in education.
- Improving life expectancy in the community: reducing burden on local medical services whilst creating safer practices to lower premature death rates by open fires. Helping remove respiratory implications allows for Somali families to improve their quality of life.
- Environmental conservation: not only improving household air-quality but contributing to broader environmental efforts by reducing ‘brown’ energy and promoting sustainable practices.
- Global collaborations: working together towards UN sustainable development goals including ensuring ‘access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy.’
The Changemakers: How You Can Make a Difference
Whilst funding cleaner cookstoves project in Somalia is a big step in the right direction, we believe that creating a cleaner environment is a group effort. To help us on our journey supporting businesses on their journey to net zero and carbon offsetting projects, we encourage you to explore ways that your business can reduce its carbon emissions and consider choosing our renewable energy products.
If you are interested to read more about this Cleaner Cookstoves project and our other carbon offsetting donations, you can find then on our Ecologi dashboard here:
There’s also an option to donate to our company forest if you would like to support Ecologi’s efforts in repopulating forests and helping communities that need it most.
