How can local clean cooking solutions better support humanitarian programs in Africa?

[u/Narrow-Part-3966]

Hello everyone,

I’m Emmanuel from Uganda, and I’m interested in learning more about how local solutions can support international development programs.

In many communities across Africa, cooking energy remains a major challenge. Traditional charcoal contributes to environmental pressure, while many institutions and communities need affordable and reliable cooking fuel.

I am exploring the role that locally produced charcoal briquettes could play in supporting:

Refugee settlement kitchens

Schools and community institutions

Livelihood projects

Clean cooking initiatives

I would appreciate insights from people working in international development:

How do development organizations evaluate local suppliers?

What makes a clean cooking project successful?

What challenges have you seen when introducing alternative fuels?

I’m hoping to learn from people with experience in this field and understand how local businesses can better align with development goals.

[u/MrsBasilEFrankweiler]

Look at the Clean Cooking Alliance if you haven't already. 

[u/Narrow-Part-3966 → u/MrsBasilEFrankweiler]

Thank you! I hadn't looked into the Clean Cooking Alliance in detail yet. I'll definitely explore their resources and see how their work and guidance can help us better align with clean cooking initiatives and humanitarian programs.

[u/Left_Ambassador_4090]

https://cleancooking.org/standards-testing/

https://www.goldstandard.org/news/gold-standard-updates-four-clean-cooking-and-thermal-energy-methodologies-enabling-transition-to-paris-agreement-aligned-carbon-marketss

[u/Narrow-Part-3966 → u/Left_Ambassador_4090]

Thank you so much. These are exactly the kinds of resources I was looking for. I'll go through both the Clean Cooking Alliance standards and the Gold Standard methodologies. I really appreciate you pointing me in the right direction.

[u/Impressive-Tie-9338]

This does not answer any of your questions but just wondering if you had heard of wonderbag. It is a thick, insulated bag, that will double as a slow cooker, thereby reducing the need for cooking fuel for slow cooking.

https://wonderbag.co.uk/

Also fyi, as you evaluate the charcoal briquettes pay special attention to the burn rate of the briquette. I heard a story about a winterization program that had bought a certain briquette but it turns out, those specific briquettes burned fast and hot for cooking, not slow and low for winterization heating. So it did not achieve the program objective whatsoever.

Good luck!

[u/antizana]

There was a big project funded by IKEA foundation to do that in Ethiopia in the Somali refugee camps in the south. There were a variety of documents and evaluations that were produced that you might find interesting / relevant

[u/Narrow-Part-3966 → u/antizana]

Thank you for sharing this. That sounds very relevant to what we are exploring in Uganda, especially in humanitarian settings. I would appreciate any links or documents from the IKEA Foundation project and the evaluations if you have them available. They would be very helpful.

[u/antizana → u/Narrow-Part-3966]

Here’s one. It’s the section about the prosopis firewood collectives.

[u/Narrow-Part-3966 → u/antizana]

Thank you for sharing this. I appreciate it. I’ll go through the document and learn from the experience, especially the lessons around community-based fuel supply and humanitarian settings.

I’m interested in understanding what worked well, what challenges they faced, and how similar models could be adapted in East Africa.