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Boiling Point 55: Monitoring and Evaluation UNHCR partner wins green award for pioneering ethanol stove The Swedish-designed CleanCook stove distributed by the Gaia Association on behalf of UNHCR has helped to slow deforestation, curb sexual and gender-based violence, reduce indoor air pollution, and ease friction between refugees and locals in Kebribeyah Refugee Camp and other areas of eastern Ethiopia, which has seen an influx of refugees from Somalia since 1991. “The Ethiopian people, especially women and children and our growing refugee population, suffer increasingly from poor energy choices and energy poverty. Gaia is pioneering ethanol stoves and fuel, using Ethiopia’s natural resources. With support from the UNHCR and the Ethiopian government we are helping both Ethiopians and refugees. This award will help us to reach more people in need,” said Gaia’s Debebe. The CleanCook stoves run on ethanol produced from molasses, a by-product of the local sugar industry. UNHCR and Gaia distribute ethanol fuel each day to some 17,000 users of the stoves in Kebribeyah. The stoves are healthier and more efficient than traditional wood-burning clay ovens or open fires, while their use means families can avoid using wood altogether. This is important in an area that has suffered severe deforestation and where women were in danger of attack when they collected fuel wood. Local manufacture of the stoves is expected to get under way soon, while UNHCR and Gaia plan to expand the project to other refugee camps in Ethiopia. “We estimate that 90 to 95 percent of the pressure on the environment has been lifted in this arid and semi-arid region [because of the stoves],” UNHCR Environment Officer Amare Gebre Egziabher recently noted. (UNHCR) Ethiopia refugees’ clean stoves scheme wins international green energy award The Gaia Association in Ethiopia is transforming the lives of refugees by distributing stoves that use ethanol fuel, a by-product of the sugar industry. The area around the Kebribiyah camp, home to 17,000 Somalian refugees, has suffered severe deforestation and women were always in danger of attack when they went out to collect fuel wood. The new stoves are healthier and more efficient, and families can avoid using wood altogether. Now Ethiopian manufacturers are producing the stoves locally. “I gave my stove to my daughter when she got married, so she wouldn’t have to face the dangers of going out to gather firewood,” said one member of the Refugee Women’s Committee. Sarah Butler-Sloss, founder and chair of the Ashden Awards said, “Our judges were enormously impressed with the enthusiasm for the stoves among refugee women. Not only did the stoves prevent wood collection, with its associated dangers and environmental impacts, they were also much safer, quicker and more pleasant to use, in particular avoiding the risk of respiratory and eye diseases from smoke inhalation.” Accepting the Ashden Award on behalf of Gaia Association, Debebe remarked, “The Ethiopian people, especially women and children and our growing refugee population, suffer increasingly from poor energy choices and energy poverty. Gaia is pioneering ethanol stoves and fuel, using Ethiopia’s natural resources. With support from the UNHCR and the Ethiopian government, we are helping both Ethiopians and refugees. This Award will help us to reach more people in need. His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, Patron of The Ashden Awards, personally congratulated this year’s award winners at a separate meeting. “The Prince of Wales was deeply encouraged to learn of the solutions demonstrated by the Ashden Awards that can reduce our dependency on a carbon economy. His Royal Highness was particularly impressed by the local sustainable energy initiatives recognised and promoted by the Awards, which not only meet the needs of communities, but tackle climate change and further sustainable development,” said a Clarence House spokesperson. For further information on the 2008 Ashden Awards international finalists (including case studies) and to schedule interviews, contact Ilana Cravitz, International Press Officer: T +44 (0) 20 8985 3724; M +44 (0) 782 551 0881; E ilana.cravitz@ashdenawards.org. Download photos: Notes to editors: Gaia Association an “Energy Champion” award finalist Documentary offers real hope Ashden announces 2008 global green awards finalists Worldwide, two billion people still have no access to modern forms of energy. Every year 1.6 million women and children are dying from respiratory diseases because they are cooking over open fires. The finalists’ efforts highlight how simple design innovation, commitment, and relatively small financial outlay can bring huge benefits to large numbers of people in terms of health, education, social welfare, and finance. The projects recognised and rewarded this year—which include small and large scale solar, mini hydro power schemes, and fuel-efficient stoves running off waste products—transform lives and reduce poverty in their communities. Among the seven international finalists is the Gaia Association of Ethiopia, for providing clean, safe ethanol stoves for refugee homes. The Kebribeyah refugee camp is home to 17,000 people who have fled conflict in bordering Somalia. Refugees in Ethiopia, as in many countries, rely on fuelwood for cooking. Women who spend long hours collecting fuelwood outside refugee camps are frequently attacked, and there is extensive deforestation. The Gaia Association has provided ethanol-fuelled stoves to 1,780 refugee families, enabling clean, comfortable cooking and preventing wood use. The ethanol is produced from locally-available molasses, a sugar by-product which previously caused pollution. The Gaia Association is starting to supply stoves and ethanol for other refugee camps and also for new housing developments in Addis Ababa, and a local factory is producing the stoves. (News from HEDON Household Energy) Project Gaia wins indoor air pollution (IAP) award Specifically, Project Gaia has been analyzing emissions both prior to and during the introduction of the CleanCook stove, a clean-burning ethanol-based stove; testing has occurred in households in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa as well as in homes within various United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) refugee camps. Acquiring data on carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter (PM), over 100 samples to date have been collected and analyzed with the assistance of the Center for Entrepreneurship in International Health and Development (CEIHD); the results have been quite impressive. For example, for households in Addis Ababa, which are primarily dependent on kerosene and charcoal, average PM2.5 levels (a measure of the twenty particles which get into the lungs) over a 48-hour period fell by an average of 72.9%, while the average maximum dropped by 41.56%. Average carbon monoxide concentrations over the 48-hour monitoring period also fell by roughly the same percentage to those of PM2.5—70.40%. Results from the refugee camps, where the primary fuel is fuelwood, have been similarly significant. (News from HEDON Household Energy) |
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