Brazil
This pilot study assessed the reception of the CleanCook stove in different urban and rural households in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Field testing of the stoves began in April, 2006.
Participating families were selected from three locations: a rural community near an ethanol distillery in Dom Orione, Betim; an urban low-income neighborhood in Salinas city; and a rural settlement which is part of the Jatiboca ethanol distillery, where families received free ethanol while the study was being conducted.
Most households in the study had been using woodfuel. They regarded smoke as a nuisance, and although bottled gas was considered an improvement, it was prohibitively expensive, and had to be bought in large quantities. After introducing the CleanCook stove and monitoring the participating households for about six months, the communities reported:
Taina enjoys making her own ramen noodles quickly on the safe, easy-to-use, CleanCook stove. She never burns herself.
You can make someone’s life easier.
• the CleanCook was easy to use, move, and clean;
• families saved an average 30 minutes of cooking time each day;
• the stove felt safe, particularly for those households with children, and the sides stayed cool during cooking;
• being able to buy fuel in small quantities was very beneficial to low-income households;
• woodfuel is banned in some areas, and several households favored the CleanCook because the price of ethanol fuel stayed constant (since it isn’t traded on the international market).
Towards the end of the study, participating households were asked to pay for the ethanol. Willingness to pay depended both on the price and on the availability of other fuel supplies. Community-based micro-distilleries have the potential to reduce prices, and state laws are currently being debated to promote them.
Projects in Brazil are being conducted by Projeto Gaia »
Additional documentation of our Brazil project can be found here »