Keeling Curve

Primary Project Category:

Project Summary / Description:

3 billion people cook their daily meals burning biomass fuels like wood or charcoal, on wasteful and dangerous ancient stove configurations. This is true also for refugee families and other humanitarian settings, leading to deforestation, increased poverty and communal tensions. We work since 2019 with United Nations refugee camp managers to design sustainable and adaptable fuel-efficient cooking solutions for the thousands families living in Cox Bazar, Bangladesh. We have created a stove airflow optimizer module, Prakti Air, adaptable to all type of biomass stove, including mud stove, that reduces fuel use by 66% and eliminate by 95% harmful emissions.

Regions of Operations:

Best Estimate of GHG Avoidance/Reduction of This Project (Tonnes CO2 Equivalent/Year):

Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

Any innovation in cooking habits must be gender-sensitive as the primary users of our stoves are women, usually in charge of household‚ cooking. However, women may not be in control of decisions on any home economics changes. We make sure that women, as effective end-users, and all household members are involved in product design and evaluation to gather unbiased impact evidence. Our unique innovation model is based on integrating women‚ feedback in our design processes, working with local women cooks, women‚ groups and/or development/humanitarian organisations, for reiteration of prototype field testing and conduct detailed acceptance surveys. 
Such user-centered design ensures that the new technology fits with cooking habits, acceptability and affordability (testing also of microfinance schemes for scale up). 
Adoption of Prakti Air improves livelihoods thanks to the significant fuel savings, which, in context where firewood or charcoal are scarce and expensive, could amount up to 15% of income. 
Prakti Air is durable (5 years minimum lifespan), and much simpler to produce (much less components), and easy last mile distribution (small volume and weight). Our design focus on affordability and easy manufacturing and assembly so that Prakti stoves could be produced and distribute locally. In collaboration with manufacturing and distribution partners, Prakti stove can create employment opportunities within the local community.

Sub-Categories: