Smokeless Stoves
Is a project to provide smokeless stoves to people in remote villages in Nepal. There is a huge dependence on and use of firewood within these communities resulting in noticeable deforestation.
Communities in rural and remote areas of Nepal are dependent on agriculture and forest products and are struggling with deforestation, increased soil erosion and degrading water quality. This project aims to promote the use of fuel efficient (smokeless) iron stoves. Each stove cost $140 to build in Nepal and install
Experience in Nepal has shown smokeless stoves have multiple benefits to health and the environment:
- increased fuel efficiency (30 – 60% depending on model) reduces the volume of firewood by approximately half and therefore slows deforestation
- less fuel use requires less time to collect and therefore allows women greater time to spend on other chores and allows girls more time to participate in school or homework
- fuel efficient stoves are cleaner burning, reducing indoor smoke and health-related impacts such as respiratory illnesses (asthma, childhood pneumonia, lung cancer), eye and ear infections (and development of cataracts), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and heart disease, low birth weights
- replacement of a centrally placed, floor level traditional woodstove with an elevated, corner located stove creates a safer family environment (less fire hazard), especially for women with infants and young children at home, reducing the potential for burn injuries
- reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by about 2.5 t/CO2 per year per stove
- cleaner burning stoves result in decreased emissions of black carbon by 50 – 90%, which studies indicate contribute the equivalent of 25 – 50% of CO2 warming globally, disrupting the monsoon and accelerating Himalayan-Tibetan glacial melting
$590 of $2,000 raised