Charcoal users will soon be relieved from chocking smoke as the new eco-friendly stove sets to dominate in Rwandan homes, the first of its kind cooker was introduced by Enviro Fuel a Florida based company in the US. The stove is in line with the governments’ campaign to combat air pollution through the use of bio fuel.
Moreover, what makes the stove pro-poor is its design which is cost effective given that it only uses only 10 ounces of coal to cook a day’s meal, what’s interesting is that the cooker is attached with a gadget that uses the heat to charge cell phones as well as light up to three bulbs, a fact that makes it useful in rural areas.
Manuel Onege the company’s Africa representative added that stove reduced the cost of fuel from US $175 to US $90 annually. He was backed by Enviro President Harry Hunt who praised the stove’s durability which lasts for more than 25 years.
However, Onege further pointed out that despite the fact there’s a challenge in getting coal locally, the company aims to do tests on peat (Nyiramugegeri) a type coal obtained from clay merged with charcoal.
Enviro Fuel also aims to start an industry in Rwanda which will serve as a market to other African countries. So far the stove has been introduced in neighboring Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo as well as Nigeria.
Still its US$ 92 cost is unaffordable to the vulnerable that’s why the company is in talks with microfinance institutions to provide credit to interested buyers.
Yussuf Uwamahoro, who is in charge of energy at the Energy, Water and Sanitation Authority (EWSA commended the stove adding that it contemplated governments efforts to enhance use of bio fuel. He added that 85 percent of the population relies on biomass as a source of energy while 4 percent depend on electricity and 11 percent on other oil products.
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