We partner with local communities to assemble and distribute the Berkeley Darfur Stove: a stove designed specifically for and by the users themselves. The stove saves money, creates jobs and is better for health and the environment.
The Berkeley Darfur Stove
Designed by engineers at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab using the knowledge and input of local Darfuri women, the Berkeley Darfur stove is a high efficiency wood-burning cookstove adapted to local pots, customs, and cooking practices. Our stove is reducing exposure to toxic smoke and requiring half the firewood of an open fire.
Through farmers groups, NGOs and community organizations, we offer stoves at a low upfront price, removing the biggest barrier to stove adoption: cost.
Saving Money
Our stove users save money by reducing fuel expenditures from 33% to 17%, a savings of $.97 per day in firewood costs. Over the anticipated 5-year lifespan of the stove, this savings amounts to $1,770 per household. We've estimated that the collective firewood savings created by all the stoves distributed so far is more than $79 million.
Monitoring Usage
In 2013 we partnered with UC Berkeley’s Center for Effective Global Action to conduct a rigorous evaluation of stove use by installing heat sensors on 180 stoves and continuously monitored use for several months. The study showed very promising results, indicating that stove owners utilized their stove for an average of an hour and a half each day.
The stoves are manufactured as flat-kits in India and then shipped to Sudan or Uganda where they are assembled in local workshops. The result is a steady income for those who assemble, sell, and market the stoves.