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Eco-Friendly Cooking Stoves Help Reduce Deforestation in Mzimba, Malawi
The project involves teaching communities how to use changu changu Mbaula eco-friendly stoves, which consume less firewood than the conventional three-stone cooking methods.
Malawi: Communities in Mzimba are now adopting cutting-edge, wood-saving cooking techniques, which show the success of a five-year project launched in 2022 to protect trees and forests, writes Blessings Gondwe.
Early in 2022, Ripple Africa launched the project, which aims to lessen deforestation.
It is currently being implemented in Traditional Authorities Jalavikuba and Mtwalo in Mzimba. The project aims to preserve forests in the two TAs, including those in Khuyu, Ezondweni, and Kamwe.
Officials from the organisation claim that the project was started as a result of population growth that put pressure on the forests' existing trees.
The project involves teaching communities how to use changu changu Mbaula eco-friendly stoves, which consume less firewood than the conventional three-stone cooking methods.
More than 8,807 households in the two TAs have already received assistance from the organisation.
A beneficiary from the village of Kalang'ombe in TA Mtwalo in Mzimba, Bertha Moyo, shared how the adoption of changu changu mbaula is assisting in the preservation of trees nearby.
"I can cook my food more quickly than in the past by using changu changu mbaula and four small pieces of firewood. The stove keeps the heat for a very long time " says Moyo.
Furthermore, according to Moyo, the project forced them to reforest their farms with trees like keisha and msangu. She continued, "We purchase seedlings from Ripple Africa and plant them so that we can obtain firewood and protect our soils.
Alfred Mkandawire, a different beneficiary from Aaron Mkandawire Village in the Jalavikuba region, claims that the project has helped to restore the vegetation in his neighbourhood.
“We used to cut down trees carelessly without considering the effects of the practise, but now we protect our trees and help build the changu changu mbaula to make cooking in our homes easier,” says Mkandawire.
Villagers have realised that Changu-Changu mbaula uses less firewood, and the method is currently being adopted at a rate of 90%, according to Force Ngwira, country director for Ripple Africa.
Ngwira says, "We came up with this project to stop deforestation and save our trees."
The project is, however, having some difficulties because some people find it difficult to change their attitudes about the propensity to cut down trees carelessly.
"We aim for a 100% adoption rate for the energy-efficient stoves. We want to educate as many people as we can about changing their mindset,” he says.
Lifred Banda, a forestry officer for the M'mbelwa District Council, argued that the advancement is essential in the fight against deforestation because it relieves the pressure of using more trees for cooking.
The government appreciates the initiative because trees must be preserved at all costs, according to Banda.
Ripple Africa intends to expand the changu changu project to additional Mzimba regions in 2023. The organisation claims that over the course of the project's five years, it will invest 1 billion kwacha.
Banda has disclosed that the Council intends to plant 9 million trees in order to replace the lost vegetative cover in the various Mzimba forest reserves. As a result, he has urged the neighbourhood to take part in the activity.