Health: From the first day, kitchens are not smoky anymore. Eye irrations, coughs, burns and children respiratory troubles quickly fade away. Long-term health impacts are substantial: they include strong decrease in affections from pneumonia, acute respiratory infections, cataract, and low-birth weight.
Economic advantage: With the fuel savings generated users recoup the stove's retail price within an average of 6 months. From that moment on, they enjoy high net fuel savings and extra time for 5 years.
Living conditions: Prakti stoves are fast, clean and safe. The time allocated to cooking and cleaning the pots is reduced while lesser attention is required to look after the kids while cooking. These changes mainly improve women's conditions as they are almost always the ones cooking.
Environmental sustainability: The sharp decrease in fuel consumptions of households as well as large kitchens fosters a sustainable use of the biomass resources that lowers deforestation and desertification in the local environment. Burning less fuel also means emitting less CO2 and other harmful green house gases such as black carbon, thus contributing to prevent global warming.
Border between Haiti (left) and the Dominican Republic (picture: National Geographic)
Country context
Haiti's forests have disappeared for 95% and the situation has only worsen with the January 2010 earthquake. Still, given the low infractustures and the availability of natural resources on the island, over 90% of Haitians rely on biomass fuel for their daily cooking needs.
A cook of a rural school (Jacmel, Haiti)
Schools' feeding programs
The World's Food Program provides lunch to 800,000 school kids through the country. Schools in urban areas use charcoal and meals for up to over 1,000 children are cooked on traditional stoves in unbearably hot kitchens. Schools in rural areas use wood and meals are cooked outdoor on three stone fires. In both settings the stoves are smoky and cooks report headaches and eye pains in the evening along hard and dirty work conditions.
Comparing the new and previous stoves and fuels
Prakti Orka stove
500 Prakti-Orka stoves have been distributed in 2011 by ILF-Haiti for WFP to over a hundred schools. Each of these schools used to consume an average of 3.5 tons of woodfuel per year with the cooking being done on three stone fires. Now the Orka stove allows them to use only clean fuel (recycled briquettes) in radically lower amounts.
Students having their lunch provided at school
Prakti-Orka stoves impact
Cooks mention a dramatical improvement in their working conditions as they do not suffer from headaches or the eyes, their clothes are clean, and school kitchens are now comfortably warm. Schools save on average $1,430 per year on their fuel expenses. Children enjoy the same quality of food for lunch but their lunch is provided in conditions that are better for their overall environment.
photo credits: ILF
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