Many of Zambia’s rural communities, like those in and around the Simalaha Community Conservancy, do not have access to electricity and depend on wood-burning to cook. This not only poses major health risks due to smoke inhalation and daily time lost collecting wood, but also causes environmental problems, as large and often well-established and indigenous trees need to be cut down. This form of deforestation is a major concern for wildlife too, which rely on these trees for food, shelter, and nesting.
To overcome these challenges, the COmON Foundation, Peace Parks Foundation, and Commonland collaborated in 2020 to scale, improve, and successfully implement a cookstoves programme for low-income households within Simalaha. These stoves reduce the consumption of wood and charcoal by approximately 30% and greenhouse gas emissions by 80%.
In this video, Kabika Kumoyo, Peace Parks’ Community Development Manager at Simalaha, is conducting a field audit with a team from Earthood, assessing the effectiveness of the cookstove programme and getting feedback from local communities on the impact it is having on their lives and livelihoods.
Over 10 000 cookstoves have already been distributed throughout Simalaha, and what started as a hopeful pilot project has now grown into a certified carbon credit programme registered by Gold Standard. This provides significant status for the initiative: certification provides global assurance of the credentials and integrity of this particular carbon offset scheme.
Peace Parks Foundation and its partners continue to assess the impact of this cookstove programme, which is improving the health and livelihoods of local communities, preserving natural habitats and conserving wildlife, whilst reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Subscribe to the free PeaceParks.TV newsletter for more conservation success stories delivered directly to your inbox.
