Better stoves for Ugandese families

In many countries people use traditional methods and stoves for cooking. This poses several problems. Safety is an obvious one. Also, the conventional fuels are a source of CO2- and other emissions and cause health problems. When family members become sick, their children – especially the daughters – must take care of them. This obligation and the fact that they often spend hours collecting firewood, keeps them from school. They don’t get a proper education and end up in poverty too.

This vicious circle is hard to break. But that didn’t stop Job Harweg, MSc student in Sustainable Energy Technology at TU/e, and NGO Raising Gaibo from trying. They went out to help Ugandese families improve their lives by improving the way they cook. Uganda has a population of 45 million people. And 99,5% of them still use old-fashioned stoves.

Job’s Internship had two goals: improving the stoves.

Better, cheaper, and more efficient stoves  

A new, modernized version of the traditional cookstove had already been created and was being produced. It looks and functions like the traditional ones, while addressing several safety and health-related issues. A more efficient design helped make it less dangerous to use, easier to clean and more fuel-efficient. It also replaced the classic firewood with biomass briquettes. Making this type of fuel easily obtainable would leave children time to visit schools and get a basic education.  

Thanks to its smart design and use of basic materials like metal and cement, the new stove cost anywhere between 10 and 20 dollars. That may seem like a steep price, but the biomass fuel is much cheaper than conventional fossil fuels. Families would earn back their investment quickly. The new stove had just one rather important drawback: it was heavy, making it hard to transport and use for women especially.  

Improving on the improved stove 

As part of the process to address the weight issue, a stove was shipped to the TU/e and examined. As a result, the idea to introduce an air column took shape. As it turned out, that would be the change that sped up the improvement significantly. The rest of the process took place in Uganda, since the materials that were going to be used were widely available in Uganda, but not in Eindhoven. There were some other improvements made to reduce the weight, but none of the changes had a measurable impact on the performance or the predicted sales price of the stove.  

Mass production and distribution 

With the improved design tested and finished, attention turned to distribution. To make a real difference, the stove should be available to the masses. The new and lighter design should help bring that goal closer. While the production of the briquettes was automated op to 80%, the stoves were still constructed manually.  

Setting up a production and distribution network was way out of scope for Jobs internship at Raising Gaibo. Instead, he talked to as many people involved in these processes and incorporated their input into the new design. Nearing the end of his internship, he made sure all stakeholders and the people that can make automated manufacturing and mass distribution possible, learned about the improved stove.  

Now, it's up to the people of Raising Gaibo and their partners to help Uganda cook safer and more efficiently. and create the opportunity for many children to attend school and get a fair shot at a better future for themselves and their families.