Tanzania Cookstoves

Establishing Effective Cookstove Dissemination Strategies in Tanzania

Colleague using the KUUTE stove to cook ugali. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Photo Credit: Niels TomijimaOver 80% of the energy used by a typical Tanzanian household is for daily cooking and lighting, the main sources of which are wood and charcoal. The indoor air pollution that results from the inefficient combustion of these materials is responsible for 1.5 million deaths per year globally, primarily among women and young children. Low-income households can spend up to 10% of their income on energy services, primarily for cooking. Finally, up to 500,000 hectares are deforested in Tanzania each year; to which the consumption of wood for fuel may contribute.

The Tanzania Cook Stove Dissemination Project is developing and testing cost-effective methods to disseminate an improved cook stove throughout urban, charcoal-using markets of Tanzania. After evaluating various cook stove designs, project leaders chose a biomass energy saving stove known as the “KUUTE” stove. KUUTE has been shown to increase fuel savings and heat transfer when compared to other leading designs. It is developed in Tanzania and is made by local artisans. While the initial reception has been positive, KUUTE is a relatively new innovation. Researchers, in partnership with a local NGO, COSTECH, hope to increase the efficiency of their dissemination efforts by focusing on vendor trainings. The dissemination method of the stoves would rely on existing producers and supply chains and thus add only minimal new infrastructure costs. Additionally, the project is working on the development and verification of a Gold Standard principles-based methodology to tap carbon credits from the voluntary market for cook stove projects.

Principal Investigator: Professor Dan Kammen, Energy and Resources Group
Lead Student Researcher: Niels Tomijima, Ph.D. Student, Energy Resources Group
Partners: The Rosenfeld Fund For Global Sustainable Development;Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH)
Field Location: Tanzania