SNV /GHACCO Launch National Improved Woodstove Challenge

The leadership of the Ghana Alliance for Clean Cookstoves and Fuels( GHACCO), a local chapter of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves and Fuels in collaboration with the Nederlands Development Organization (SNV) under the Strategic Support To The Clean Cooking Sector in Ghana, have launched the National Improved Woodstove Challenge for artisans in the Ghanaian Clean Cookstoves Sector in the Ashanti region.

The CEO of the Ghana Alliance for Clean Cookstoves GHACCO), during the launch at the Forest Research Institute(FORIG) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR) at Fumesua in the Ejisu Municipality, said the Challenge is to inspire and motivate local artisans and industry players in the Clean Cookstoves Industry to be more innovative and come out with fuel efficient and environmentally friendly woodstoves brands for domestic usage.

Mr. Mohammed Lukumanu Aminu disclosed that about 75 percent out of the 3 million rural households in the country made up of some 11.3 million population still use wood fuels and unimproved traditional stoves for domestic cooking on daily basis.

He regretted that despite this alarming statistics, the Ghanaian Clean Cook Sector has not seen any indigenously designed improved woodstoves for the millon's of Ghanaian households that use wood fuels as their major sources of energy for cooking.

Mr. Lukumanu indicated that the National Improved Woodstove for Household Challenge is a platform for artisans to design and submit models of promising improved woodstoves to a technical committee made up of stakeholders and experts from the energy sector for the necessary technological assessments and efficiency tests.

He hinted that the Challenge will then certify and endorse three or four most promising technologically improved and environmentally sustainable designed woodstove brands, to be adopted for use in the Ghanaian rural homes after the end of the contest in 2018.

Senior Energy Advisor of the Nederlands Development Organization(SNV) Ghana, Alex Kwame Donyinah in an interview after the launch argued that very little progress has been made so far in the Clean Cooking Sector in the country as far as improved woodstove is concern.

He noted that millions of Ghanaians still use economically inefficient and environmentally unfriendly and unsustainable stoves due to technological gap regarding improved woodstoves.

He cautioned against the adamant use of unimproved woodstove and its many negative impacts on the environment and human health and urged industry players to use the Challenge to effect the needed changes in the country's clean cook campaign.

He indicated that the Challenge is a component of a bigger plan of the Strategic Support to the Clean Cooking Sector in Ghana, aimed at a comprehensive development of Ghana Nascent Woodstoves Sector.

Mr. Donyinah diclosed that the Strategic Support project being implemented in Ghana began in 2016 and has delivered a number of support services to actors engaged in developing Clean Cook market in Ghana to build an enabling environment for a thriving Clean Cooking Sector.

He was optimistic that the out come of the challenge is will well feed into the Ghana Energy Transformation Initiative(GETI) of the World Bank which seek among other objectives to increase access to safe cooking as committed under the Sustainable Development Goal Seven(SDG 7 ) of ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

Mr. Alex Kwame Donyinah encouraged all artisans and industry players taking part in the challenge to put in their best efforts and development brands that can contribute to the socioeconomic development of country.