Peace is Possible... 

Tribes for a New Sudan 

Helping Hands 

To date, there are over 1.8 million people in Darfur displaced by the conflict. Displaced populations fleeing to urban camps and seeking safety in host villages throughout Darfur have greatly impacted the already fragile Sahelian ecosystem. One of the greatest and most consistent needs for all Darfurians, be they displaced, settled or on the move is firewood and fuel to heat their homes, cook their food, and treat water for consumption and food preparation. Fire wood collection and the risks endured by women and children collecting this scarce resource has been one of the most challenging and serious protection concerns both in IDP camps and also in villages where the conflict over resources is high.

Wood collection practices, environmental impact and protection issues have been raised at numerous UN, NGO and donor venues and has yielded a range of views on the appropriateness of various technical interventions, their effectiveness, sustainability and implementation. Such discussions have yielded several good interventions, but the impact and coordination between agencies and sectors to address mass dissemination and information campaigns have been weak and require greater emphasis on models of dissemination and opportunities to combine fuel efficient stove projects with other sectors such as health, livelihoods and water and sanitation to promote their use and utility based on the culture and environment of Darfur.

In West Darfur 3,362 women have been trained in fuel efficient stove use, design and construction. In North Darfur between 7,883 women have been trained and in South Darfur 29,777 women have been trained. UNJLC and UNFAO have also contributed funding to the promotion of fuel efficient stove design and UNFAO continues to provide funding and support for the promotion of this activity. UNICEF also has received money to support fuel efficient stove projects in Darfur. International NGOs in Darfur have piloted several design models in Darfur, but have had limited success in monitoring the impact of the particular designs or formulating strategies to more widely disseminate model use with social mobilization or marketing campaigns.

In Darfur the issue of fuel wood collection and protection are two sides of the same coin. They require coordination and capacity to tackle the challenges of providing options and interventions in very diverse settings with limited resources. The greatest tragedy in Darfur of large concentrations of displaced populations is also one of opportunity for training, capacity building, and for information dissemination campaigns, especially in a country the size of Darfur and with the logistical challenges of overland travel. The setting of IDP camps and the coordination and services provided in disperse villages hosting IDP populations provides an opportunity for social mobilization and model dissemination that would otherwise be difficult in a setting such as Darfur. Social mobilization campaigns can target mixed communities and encourage cooperation across tribes. Campaigns can also provide different tribes with the opportunity to discover shared messages and provide a common approach to encourage the protection of scarce resources.

In Darfur forums such as the Fuel and Energy Working Groups and the Protection Working Groups have worked to look at ways to encourage the use of fuel efficient stoves and have also advocated for greater funding and more partners to plan and implement projects for Fuel Efficiency. These forums have effectively created awareness among the international and national community of the utility of fuel efficient stove projects, but the methods and approaches have often been more based on training than on impact of dissemination models, methods or marketing. In addition, little evaluation or impact analysis has been completed post programming to encourage replication.

Pilot models have been developed without careful monitoring of cultural viability, livelihood impact, or utility. There has been little coordination with the health sector and even less with the water and sanitation sector. The Protection working groups have worked very hard to encourage these interventions, but it will take a coordinated effort to encourage mass dissemination, monitoring and careful impact studies on pilot models to yield sustainable and viable models to help mitigate the conflicts that emerge in these environments over access to resources.

A recent fuel efficient stove project in Kebkabiya, North Darfur trained 6,000 women to build and teach other women to build stoves. The project aimed to improve the security of women in by reducing the time spent and distance traveled in collecting firewood. The project trained over 6000 women in making fuel-efficient stoves and educated them in a number of cooking practices to reduce firewood consumption and smoke inhalation in the home. The project was also aiming to help to slow the deforestation process around Kebkabiya.

Cooking in these stoves save women hours of time and plenty of wood 

The objectives of the project were: 1) to improve the security of women in Kebkabiya by reducing the time spent and distance traveled in collecting firewood. 2) to help slow the deforestation process around Kebkabiya and 3) to educate women in a number of cooking practices to reduce firewood consumption and smoke inhalation in the home.

When this project was monitored some key findings were discovered. The women demonstrated good understanding of the difference between the traditional stoves and the Fuel Efficient Stoves (FES). Accordingly they give the following advantages of FES: 1) FES consumes half the quantity of fuel then the traditional one to cook the same food quantity e.g. to cook Assida (common local food) for a family of 8 members, traditional stove consumes 3 pieces of firewood (a size of 1 meter length and diameter of 5cm) while FES consumes only 1piece for the same quantity. 2) it requires almost half the time for cooking the same amount of food as compared to the traditional stoves e.g. to cook Assida for a family of 8 members traditional stove takes 1 hour while FES takes 20 – 30 minutes only.

Some other advantages include: 1) conserves heat so food can stay warm for longer duration compared to traditional one 2) cooking pots and area kept clean because of less smoke and ash 3) less risk of burning for both children and shelter 4) FES is moveable where the traditional stove is not easy to move from one place to another 5) FES becomes much more solid and strong with frequent use and as the fire burns and 6) Its easy to make FES. Depending on the size and the material being ready and well processed, one stove can take 30 – 60 minutes to be made.

In monitoring the impact of these models with women, the women stated that the use of the fuel-efficient stove assisted in decreasing the rate of exposure to risk. This was mainly because the number of trips women had to take to collect firewood had decreased. Previously when using traditional stoves women would have to go daily or at least 5 times per week to bring wood. In using FES the trips had reduced to 2-3 per week hence also reducing exposure and risk.

FES was also helping them decrease household expenses as the women buying wood from market had significantly reduced this expense. Previously women said when using the traditional stove they would buy wood for at least 700 – 800 SDD (donkey load) per week for a family of 8 members. When using FES the same quantity now lasts them 2 – 3 weeks. Some women had also started to sell the stoves in the market and use their skill as an income generation activity. They were producing a very limited quantity for sale and selling it for 500 – 600 SDD per stoves.

Fueling Protection