As you can tell from our blog, a big part of our mission in Tanzania is these cool little clay stoves. Although Alex may be able to lay claims to being a great cook and Andre can appreciate a deliciously prepared (western or African) meal, neither of us are potters or experts on fuel efficient stoves. But the Monger family is! They have spent the last four years in Tanzania promoting these stoves, with Tim working with communities on the production of these stoves and Rachel doing cooking demonstrations with local women (check out their blog, "What's Cookin' in Tanzania?"). They have also trained Jesca, a Tanzanian community development worker, to continue their work with the stoves. There is definitely a strong need for this simple cooking technology, as was recently highlighted in the news with some newly published research (see previous post).

But it's not all about stoves. We will be joining the EI-Tanzania team to build on the success of these simple clay stoves through complimentary agriculture and forestry interventions. The beauty of these stoves is that they tie in to so many other aspects of community development.

FORESTRY: The stoves help address the issue of massive deforestation and the diminishing supply of cooking fuel, but need to be combined with afforesation efforts. Tree planting initiatives can help reforest the area around a community to rebuild forest habitat, prevent soil erosion, and provide a source for firewood and timber production. But some species of trees can also be planted in farmers' gardens through intercropping methods to actually increase their crop yields while also providing a steady supply of firewood close to home. And planting various fruit trees around community wells and schools can provide nutritious fruits and the trees are less likely to be cut down.

FOOD PROCESSING: The promotion of fuel efficient stoves is also combined with cooking demonstrations that focus on nutrition, health, and hygiene. Food processing can also be incorporated, such as utilizing nutritious crops, preserving and storing foods, etc.

AGRICULTURE: Cooking takes the subsistence farming community back to the garden, naturally leading to improved farming practices, such as kitchen gardens, crop diversification, composting, conservation farming, small-scale irrigation, and so on.

SMALL BUSINESS: The goal of the stoves project is to establish a sustainable supply of energy efficient stoves made of local clay in the rural communities, in which the income prospect for local stove producers is the incentive to produce more stoves. This income generating aspect has in many cases resulted in the development of local community banks, also known as Village Savings and Loans (VSL) groups. As communities pool their resources, they are able to give out small loans to enable its members to start small businesses and generate additional income. There are numerous success stories of improved livelihoods -- school fees for children, improved farm inputs such as fertilizer and tools, bicycles for transportation, etc.

CHURCH: Working in close participation with the local church, the community will be able to identify its specific needs and address those needs through appropriate technologies and practices. That means that in one community we may focus on some aspect of agriculture while in another we may collaborate with our water and sanitation team to provide a community with clean drinking water or build proper latrines at a local school and in yet another community the focus might be on strengthening its church leadership. Regardless of the means, the local church will build its capacity to meet the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of its community. We believe in community development through the local church because of its shared mandate and local presence as an agent of change in the community and we feel privileged to have the opportunity to come alongside rural Tanzanian churches to be part of building God's Kingdom in Tanzania.

Cooking on open fires fueled by wood or charcoal made the news this week, as The Lancet Respiratory Medicine Commission published research that shows the health risks for about 2.8 billion people in the world who cook on open fires.

A third of the world's population uses solid fuel derived from plant material (biomass) or coal for cooking, heating, or lighting. These fuels are smoky, often used in an open fire or simple stove with incomplete combustion, and result in a large amount of household air pollution when smoke is poorly vented. Air pollution is the biggest environmental cause of death worldwide, with household air pollution accounting for about 3.5-4 million deaths every year. Women and children living in severe poverty have the greatest exposures to household air pollution.

CBC News reports, "Clean cooking technologies, such as advanced cook stoves and solar powered systems, exist. But they need to be affordable, efficient and long lasting to replace traditional methods."

The portable clay stoves that we will be promoting in Tanzania are made entirely from local resources. They are relatively simple to produce, affordable, and convenient to use. It's a sustainable technology that drastically cuts firewood consumption and significantly reduces the amount of smoke produced.

The researchers hope their research "will provide the impetus to drive change and tackle what is a preventable, but devastating, burden on the health of the world’s population." Glad to be part of the change in Tanzania.