The South Sudan Red Cross provided a very successful training to the women (and men) of Komiri Payam in Budi County in energy saving mud stoves. Originally the project planned to train 80 people however due to overwhelming interest 117 people ended up being trained (24 men and 93 women).
Environmental specialist, Idrifua Patrick taught the participants the importance of conserving the environment while at the same time reducing their work load in the collection of firewood and food preparation.
The stoves are made completely from local materials so anyone can benefit from the new technology.
Deforestation is a big problem and these stoves can help address that as much less firewood is required to run the stoves and alternative sources of fuel can be used.
Grass and other organic material found around the compound such as weeds, crop residue, leaves, small twigs and seed pods can be used for fuel reducing the need to collect a lot of wood. Once hot, the stoves will stay warm for hours, so there is no need to continue adding additional wood.
Not only do these stoves conserve energy, but they are also much safer than the traditional three brick stove that is currently being used. As the flame is now enclosed children are not at risk of being burnt.
Using an energy saving stove also reduces the risks that are associated with collecting firewood. For instance in some parts of the country, women have been hit by land mines while collecting firewood in the bush, others have been raped and caught in the crossfire during cattle raids. In addition, some families only eat once a day due to the scarcity of wood while others do not cook foods that require a lot of wood. This can have a detrimental impact on people’s food security and nutritional status.
The impact of the training has been tremendous. To date over 700 stoves have been built in the 8 bomas supported by the Red Cross. Not only have the trainees built their own stoves, but they are also supporting their neighbours to build stoves of their own.
This evidence shows that the communities, especially the women, are very impressed with this new innovation. They have also testified how these energy saving stoves have changed their lives by saving their time, leaving them free for other productive activities such as cultivation.
| Mary Nadai said her problem of collecting firewood has reduced to the extent that since she was trained on improved energy saving stoves by SSRC, she has been using the firewood that she stored since early last year. This is because improved energy saving stoves use little firewood and save heat for a long time. She gave an example of when she cooks food while her children are still in school, she would leave the food on top of the oven without any fire and the children would return and eat warm food. The children also like it as she has not asked them to help her collect firewood in the bush for a long time. “I have also trained 2 other women in the neighborhood who have also built energy saving stoves,” Nadai explained. |