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Burundi

In Burundi, according to a 2020 World Bank study, about 90% of rural households use three-stone fires and 99% of households use solid fuels as their primary fuel for cooking. Less than 2% of the population is estimated to have access to Improved Cookstoves (ICS), mainly through distribution supported by EnDev, the World Food Programme (WFP) and EU-funded programmes. Burundi is also one of the poorest countries in the world and has a rapidly growing population. Dependence on wood and charcoal has led to severe depletion of forests and soils. Households face high fuel scarcity and increasing fuel prices for cooking as well as soil erosion related to the overuse of biomass and health problems due to high levels of smoke exposure.

Technologies used in this project

  • Improved cookstoves

Country data

  • People with access to modern cooking energy 85,733*
  • *Achievements from January 2021 until December 2022.

Approach

EnDev Burundi focuses on increasing access to clean cooking. The project introduced a highly efficient, affordable, and locally produced biomass ICS in 2017 that is becoming increasingly popular. Since 2021, AVSI Foundation is implementing the project and has lead a further scaling up of the market for ICS in cooperation with the public and private sector as well as other donors and partners.

The project focuses on:

  • Production: Existing ceramic workshops are identified, or new workshops are supported for vulnerable populations, production agents are trained, production tools and equipment are supplied and production quality is controlled.
  • Marketing: Producers are linked to distribution partners and are supported with visibility tools. Road shows, demonstration events, and exhibitions carried out with producers round-off the marketing strategy.
  • Awareness Raising: Household adoption is encouraged in collaboration with relevant ministries and local government using advertising spots, radio broadcasts, trainings and community meetings.
  • Sustainability: The capacities of producers and vendors are strengthened with expert technical support but also through the exchange of experiences from smaller workshops to more advanced workshops, guaranteeing sustainable knowledge and business networks. The project also supports jobs in ICS production and sales for unemployed young people (60 percent women) and in savings and credit groups (VSLAs), and encourages producers to access finance through MFIs or other donor-funded initiatives. Further professionalization support is being developed to help producers qualify for financial assistance programs or loans.
An awareness raising activity to promote improved cookstoves. ©AVSI
Awareness-raising activity in Bujumbura to promote improved stoves. ©AVSI

Impacts

EnDev has contributed significantly to the availability of ICS in Burundi as well as to the level of awareness of the advantages of using fuel efficient stoves for cleaner cooking. Job creation and household adoption rates have also increased significantly. In its next phase, the project intends to strengthen the programme by integrating more of the most vulnerable populations, especially women and marginalized communities, in the production and sale of ICS in new and existing sites. In 2023 the project will also support the production and marketing of a new efficient charcoal stoves for restaurants, for which there are currently almost no efficient alternatives on the local market.

Other projects

  • Tanzania

    Together with its partner SNV, EnDev introduces appropriate cooking technology to biomass consumers. In addition, the picoPV market is supported.

  • Strengthening the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem for Clean Cooking (SEE-CC)

    Switching to clean cooking transforms lives. It improves health, protects the climate, empowers women and helps consumers save time and money.

  • Ethiopia

    EnDev promotes electrification through pico hydro power and micro hydro power plants. Besides, it helps establish a network of improved cookstove producers.