In this follow-up Peace Parks TV episode, we find inspiration on Inhaca Island, in southern Mozambique! We are revisiting an ongoing success story, as the lives and livelihoods of local bakers are transformed by eco-friendly hardware introduced in 2022: gas ovens.
Marking a game-changing transition from marginal businesses to promising entrepreneurship, bakers are now able to repay the costs of the 14 ovens and cylinders initially supplied to them. Reaching this milestone paves – and pays – the way for the expansion of, and re-investment in, a growing number of community bakeries. The switch to gas from wood-burning ovens is saving hours and energy in the search for bread-baking fuel, and safeguarding dune forests and mangroves otherwise threatened by deforestation.
Supported by Fondation Ensemble, the gas oven initiative is being implemented to equip and empower the communities of Inhaca, and neighbouring districts, to lead more sustainable lives in harmony with their natural resources.
Where Conservation and Community Challenges Meet
Nestled within the Maputo Environmental Protection Area, Inhaca Island’s ecosystems and communities face increasing vulnerability to climate change and landscape degradation. The overreliance on wood and charcoal, for both household fuel and bread production, has led to a dwindling supply, exacerbating these challenges. Local women are drawn away from their households as they trek to source more fuel, and wood scarcity drives tree-felling. Particularly threatened are the region’s dune forests, which vitally contribute to unique local biodiversity and provide protection against erosion.
Also at risk are mangrove ecosystems. In the fight against climate change, mangroves absorb and store vast quantities of carbon from the atmosphere and offer protection to shorelines vulnerable to sea level rise and increasingly severe weather. Members of the communities of Inhaca district recognise that deforestation is the main cause for loss of biodiversity, soil degradation and flooding, amongst other environmental impacts – but have until now have been left with no choice in order to support themselves. “Before getting these ovens we struggled greatly to find firewood, and this was leading us to destroy the nature around us,” says Inhaca baker Arlindo Samuge.
Paying it Forward to Sustain and Protect
In 2022, 14 bakers received gas ovens on the condition that they would repay 30% of the cost within eight months. This business-building approach not only benefits the current bakers but ensures a pay-it-forward model, as repayments are used to acquire more ovens for those still relying on tree felling for fuel.
Arlindo, one of the beneficiaries, described the growth in both his business and the district following the provision of the ovens: “I now employ six workers and have managed to build a snack bar to supplement my income from the bakery. This all comes from the oven provided by the park, which has introduced great benefits for us and for the local youth. We are motivated and committed to this conservation goal.”
Stay tuned to Peace Parks TV to follow stories of ongoing sustainable development in Mozambique.
