Archive for May, 2010
Cooking in Mbeya
Thursday, May 27th, 2010
A 800km+ drive on a highway which moved along through a beautiful and richly diverse countryside which included the lush Uluguru and Udzungwa mountain ranges, Mikomi game reserve (yes, giraffes, zebras and elephants do hang out along the highway), a baobab tree forest, and finally to the beautiful southern highlands of Tanzania that is the Mbeya region.
I travelled with Abraham (the owner of Afrozone Ltd – a Liquefied Petroleum Gas “LPG” distribution company) with the goal to further our understanding the energy consumption cooking profile of the city. Armed with a short questionnaire (in English & Swahili) and Abraham’s son to help me translate my still poor Swahili, we set out to the streets to speak directly with the consumers. After speaking with individuals of various income and education levels, generally we learned the following:
- everybody we spoke to cooks with charcoal at home
- most ‘established’ restaurants were cooking with LPG
- although in each instance the cook was not cooking with LPG at home
- the average monthly cost of charcoal was 15,000 to 30,000 shillings, on par with the cost of LPG without considering burn efficiencies
- the average number of hours spent cooking one meal was about 2 hours
- many sited that indoor air pollution from their current energy source was a concern to them
All but two people told us, that they had been considering a move towards LPG, however the consistently stated barriers were as follows:
- high upfront costs of cylinders and appliances
- fear of use; LPG is still perceived as unsafe particularly when there are children in the home, or the cooking is being prepared by a ‘housegirl’
- a belief that traditional foods such as beans and rice, as well as boiling water are better prepared using charcoal
- a lack of knowledge of how to source LPG
The Tanzanian Government has attempted (more than once) unsuccessfully to devise a plan that would see the prohibition of charcoal being sold in city centres, as well as attempting to prohibit the felling of trees, both initiatives have resulted in increased prices of charcoal throughout the country. However, I suspect these initiatives have failed as no alternative fuel choices were offered alongside the regulations. Given the lack of information in general on energy choices, and specifically with only a handful of LPG dealers in a city of over 400,000 residents, you can understand why their choices are limited.
Last week, I visited the LPG storage facility in Dar es Salaam (the only operational storage facility in the country) to find that they were awaiting a shipment. I was told yesterday that it was an entire week before a delivery was received. This doesn’t do much for consumer choice, forcing those already using LPG as their primary cooking source to revert to charcoal or other fuel sources as they wait to exchange their empty cylinders for full ones.
So gradual change is possible, given the right incentives to industry to increase storage capabilities and thus ensure an adequate supply, an affordability scheme to address the upfront cost, as well as education and awareness programs to promote gas as a safe, cleaner and efficient choice. Much effort will be needed from the private sector companies to be able to reach the eager market, however I believe much effort will also need to be generated at a government level – making clean energy a basic urban service, as well as ensuring an adequate supply is available to fill this right.
Tags: lpg, tanzania
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Returning to Bawjiase Countryside Orphanage
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010
Today, I was able to return to Bawjiase with more energy equipment for the children and staff at the Countryside Orphanage.
Although Bawjiase is only one and a half hours drive outside of downtown Accra, the small town, which is located in the Central Region of Accra, is dramatically quieter and less busy than the capital city. In fact, it is so small that some might consider it just a village. In addition, there are very few, if any, tourists that make their way to this town, as most keep driving straight along the highway toward the well known tourist attractions of Elmina and Cape Coast castles, rather than turn north at the Kasoa junction.
Back in February of this year, energy4everyone provided the orphanage with four commercial-large sized efficient charcoal cook stoves and two solar lanterns, along with 20 hand powered flashlights. This time around, following feedback from the orphanage staff and a prior visit and assessment by an energy4everyone representative, energy4everyone provided a further two commercial-large sized energy efficient charcoal cook stoves and 4 solar lanterns.
Just as before, the staff and children at the orphanage were very grateful and thanked us for the energy equipment, and asked that energy4everyone continue to support the orphanage and “spread word” of the orphanage.
You can view photographs of the orphanage and the energy equipment provided by going to our website at http://energy4everyone.com/projects/donations/countryside-orphanage-bawjiase-ghana, or by visiting our Flickr site at http://www.flickr.com/energy4everyone.
You can also learn more about the Countryside Orphanage by visiting its website at http://www.countrysideorphanage.org.
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Efficient Cook Stove Success at Adabraka Market
Sunday, May 16th, 2010
Resounding success! That was the overwhelming feedback from the beneficiaries of the first phase of energy4everyone’s micro-finance program to distribute energy efficient charcoal cook stoves at Adabraka Market in Accra, Ghana. The first phase occurred in February this year.
In addition to touring and talking to beneficiaries at the market this week, energy4everyone had already surveyed 62 of the 160 beneficiaries to assess phase one of the program. All of the beneficiaries asked said the stoves used less charcoal, saved them money, cooked food more quickly, and 60% of the beneficiaries said that some food tasted better.
You can view photographs of the efficient cook stoves, as well as the less efficient traditional cook stoves, in use at Adabraka Market by visiting our website at http://energy4everyone.com/projects/efficient-charcoal-cookstoves/, or at our Flickr site at http://www.flickr.com/energy4everyone.
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