Getting in the business of change: helping the environment and creating jobs
“It isn’t just a job, it is an opportunity to break the cycle of Gender Based Violence. The more women feel empowered to join the workforce and gain financial independence, the faster we’ll see gender equality in Rwanda. Through our programs, we hope to influence this change”
— Mary Balikungeri, Director & Founder, RWN
Nearly 80% of Rwandan households use wood and charcoal for cooking, creating a problem of indoor air pollution. In fact, the World Health Organization estimates that every year indoor air pollution causes the early death of about 12,500 people, especially women and children, in Rwanda.
In 2015 the UN issued a first share of over 6,500 carbon certificates under its Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) for the ‘Improved Cook stoves’ program for Rwanda. To date, this program has provided over 14,000 households in Rwanda with affordable and energy efficient stoves. Rwanda Women’s Network is a proud partner enabling this change.
“We decided to join this program because we saw opportunities, for families, for the environment and for women” said Mary. Through this program, we are contributing to the country’s vision to reduce the rate of wood use in national energy consumption from 94% to 50% as well as the Second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS II) which aims to promote energy efficiency in cooking.
How does it work:
We collaborate with the German organization Atmosfair, to produce and distribute their innovatively designed and high-quality efficient cook stoves (Stove80). Through this model, we are providing jobs to women in communities, as they learn to assemble and sell the stoves through our Safe Spaces.
Over a period of 28 years, the program is expected to distribute over 100,000 stoves and reduce over 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year. “This is comparable to carbon emissions released by 75,000 buses making a round trip to Nairobi from Kigali”, said Allan Mubiru, the country manager of Atmosfair in Rwanda.
So far, the impact has been phenomenal:
The efficient stoves reduce the amount of wood needed for cooking by up to 80%, which significantly improves everyday life. This leaves households with more money for other important purposes such as education or better nutrition (saving on average 6,000 RwF).
The project generates income. Over 100 jobs have been created for stove constructors, distributors and project managers.
Lastly, by distributing these stoves, we hope to decrease the demand for firewood, hence reducing deforestation in Rwanda.
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Help us invest in more income generating opportunities for women. Helping them achieve financial independence.
