Congo: Fuel Efficient Stoves

Country: DR Congo
Topic: Climate/Environment

Stoves that are more firewood-efficient not only help curb rapid deforestation, but help women spend less time gathering wood in dangerous areas. Photo: Dee Goluba/Mercy Corps

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo, for short) is slowly emerging from years of conflict — but these years have sadly left a legacy with hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) still living in large, barely habitable camps.

In the three territories where Mercy Corps operates — Goma, Rutshuru and Masisi — there are more than 32,000 displaced families living in thirteen sprawling IDP camps. The fuel needs for cooking fires are causing severe deforestation in the adjacent Virunga National Park, one the most threatened World Heritage Sites in the world. In addition, collection of fuel wood in unstable areas places women at risk of rape and murder by some of the remaining rebel soldiers.

Virunga National Park was already under severe pressure from local population growth and a boom in construction around Goma — the fastest-growing city in Congo — before the IDPs arrived. This park is a natural habitat for mountain gorillas, and represents a significant prospect for contributing to the economic recovery of Eastern Congo through tourism and conservation.

The ecological damage and current pressures of the displaced population are damaging the prospects for the future growth of the Congolese economy. As a result, the conservation of the park, for both its ecological and economic value, is of major importance.

When displaced families use traditional food preparation techniques, which typically consist of an open cooking fire, the daily firewood needs for each IDP household amounts to seven kilograms per day. For the total displaced population in the area, this translates to a total daily need of 224,000 kilograms, or 224 tons, of wood every day.

How we can help

Your donation will make a difference.

Mercy Corps has demonstrated that daily firewood consumption can be reduced to two or three kilograms per day by constructing inexpensive fuel-efficient stoves and teaching families improved food preparation techniques. These activities effectively reduce the demand for firewood by 57-71 percent — from 224 tons per day between 64-96 tons per day.

Each fuel-efficient cooking stove costs $16 and reduces CO2 emissions by an estimated three tons per year. So far, we've raised $10,000 for the project.

You can click here to support this project through a donation to our Climate Change fund. You can also support the initiative by purchasing a Fuel-Efficient Stove Kit from our catalog of Mercy Kits.

How your investment will be used

We will establish fuel-efficient stove demonstration sites in each camp. These stoves will be highlighted in community education campaigns designed to increase awareness of the benefits of using fuel-efficient cooking stoves and improving food preparation techniques.

Households will receive training on the construction of the stoves and be provided with the necessary construction materials. They will also receive regular guidance and supervision by project staff until the project is complete.

Next in this series: Mongolia: Yak Tallow Bio-diesel

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