Successful Issuance – Rwandan Cookstove Project

It is never late to share good news: we have issued over 30,000 credits from our Rwandan cookstove projects last December! It was the second issuance for the GS1267 which was the our first project to be implemented in Rwanda. The cookstoves in that specific VPA have been operational since early 2014 and are still in use in the stove beneficiaries households. Fortunately in the past three years there was no need for stove reparation, only the replacement of the wood grates at few households, confirming the durability of the in-house designed improved cookstove.

Below are few pictures about the improved cookstoves from the most recent trip to Rwanda. More pictures from the field will come soon, stay tuned!

Cookstove LSC in Rwanda

On the 16^th of September another successful Local Stakeholder Consultation took place in Gashora, Rwanda which marked the launch of a new cookstove projects in Bugasera sector. The projects will be implemented in the frame of a partnership between co2balance UK Ltd and Climate Corporation Emissions Trading GmbH, while the field activities will be facilitated by our in-country partner FAPDR with whom we have successfully worked together in previous projects.  The stakeholder consultation started at 10:00am and was attended by a high number of participants from six sectors of the district as well as by the representatives ofClimate Corporation Emissions Trading GmbH and co2balance UK Ltd. FAPDR took an active role in the moderation of the meeting which was held both in Kinyarwandan and English. After answering the questions from participants, the meeting was concluded with stove demonstration and the closing ceremony, following Gold Standard guidance. Please see some pictures  of the meeting below and stay tuned for updates about this new project.

First year of ACREST-CO2balance partnership

Since the local stakeholder meeting held in January last year, a significant progress was achieved in the jointly implemented “West Cameroon Improved Cookstove” Project. The Gold Standard Foundation listed our project, endorsing this unique partnership whereby local knowledge and skills are matched with international support and know-how. The improved cookstoves made at the ACREST Headquarter in Mbouda has been subsidised though the carbon market and was made affordable for hundreds of families, providing access to cleaner and healthier cooking environment.

One of the stove users is Madame Yontu Solange. She is very happy with the stove mainly because it cooks faster and uses twice less wood than the three-stone fire she used before. She also pointed out that the stove is safe and does not require constant supervision like the three-stone fire, this way she can carry out other household tasks or even go to the market while the food is being cooked. Given that the stove retains heat efficiently, it keeps the food warm even after the fire extinguished, which is also a great advantage as the family is big and everyone arrives home at different time to eat.

We are looking forward for another successful year with ACREST in Cameroon!

Cecile’s story from Rwanda

FAPDR, our local partner NGO in the Rwandan cookstove projects has recently conducted interviews of those beneficiarias who were the first to receive the improved cookstoves in Bugasera. We were interested in their experience using the stoves in the past months, hoping that we can hear some positive feedbacks. The first interviewee was Cecile,18 old, first born daughter of Ngendahayo family who is responsible for cooking in the their household, preparing meals for 7 family members every day.

Her father Xavier told FAPDR that the family moved from the Southern Province to settle in Bugesera region in 1979 looking for land to cultivate. When they arrived in the region, it was covered with lush forests however around 2000 locals started to notice a decline in available firewood. To tackle the problem the government encouraged tree plantation in the district but the problem has been persisting.

Cecile then explanied that they were the first family to receive the improved cookstoves in Bugasera distributed by FAPDR. She told that she liked the stove mainly because of its favourable performance in the kitchen: it decreases the quantity of wood used and it gives out less smoke which in return keeps the kitchen clean. She said that she encourages  the neighbours buy the same improved cookstove because it helps both for families in the kitchen and the region to preserve more trees.

Shimba Hills Cookstove – second issuance

 

After weeks of rigorous review of the Gold Standard, the second issuance of voluntary emission reductions (VERs) for the Shimba Hills Improved Cookstove Project has now been finally approved. We are grateful for our colleagues in the Kenya office as well as the verification team from Carbon Check for facilitating our work throughout the review. This successful closure on the issuance review reinforces our effort to continue our work in the beautiful Shimba Hills.