The empowerment of women through job creation was not a primary objective of EnDev projects. Nevertheless, from case to case between 36–85% of those who earned their livelihoods as stove producers were women (e.g. Ethiopia: 36% of 339 producers, Uganda: 70% of around 4,000, Malawi: 85% of 59). In Peru it was also reported that women had been trained as installers and promoters, and had gained self-confidence and pride by doing the same work as men. Similar statements were recorded in Malawi where the respondents also said that, by becoming entrepreneurs, women are improving their social position, and enhancing their roles within families and villages.
Electrification also supports income generation. As was recorded in Honduras, it has made it possible for women to do some of their housework after dark, so they have time to do productive work during the day. Likewise, most of the households interviewed in Peru also agreed that women have benefited most from the improved lighting conditions. The same was true for Bangladesh, where 88% of women in households with new solar home systems said they had benefited because they spend most of their time at home: the improved lighting helps them in their household work, and they can avoid the hassle of kerosene lamps.
In the Indonesian EnDev project, access to electricity has been increased by using micro-hydropower systems. Here, the women claimed that many time-consuming activities, such as rasping coconuts and chopping chillies, which before were done manually, can now be completed easily using electrical appliances. (For example, in Pancung Taba, where people have had access to electricity since 2000, 90% of the women use electric coconut rasping machines, at least 30% use a rice cooker, 50% a blender, 50% a mixer, 40% a cold and hot water dispenser and 15% a fridge). In some few cases they are even selling these services to neighbours. The women also reported improved hygiene, because they can now boil water to sterilise it before putting it into the dispenser. In some villages, households now use electric pumps to pump water from a nearby river or from a well. This also reduces the workload for the women and children, as it was usually they who had to fetch the water before. Before having electricity they used kerosene for their lamps and to light the fire in the cooking stove. The women also stressed that saving on kerosene was also a reduced expense. They estimated that their kerosene consumption had decreased from 20 litres a month to about eight. Not only does this correspond to a cost reduction of about 30%, it also constitutes an improvement of the indoor air quality. Apart from the cost and health benefits from the reduced kerosene consumption, some women have started to generate additional income by offering electric coconut rasping as a service for others.
Millions of people around the world do not have sufficient access to high quality medical treatment. One of several factors that can improve the efficiency of health care systems is the provision of affordable energy. Electric power is important for any well functioning health care system because it enables clinics to refrigerate vaccines, sterilise medical equipment, provide lighting in wards and operating theatres, and make use of communication equipment. Moreover, access to electricity can help attract and retain health workers. It also allows the use of modern mass communication tools to fight the spread of preventable diseases. Besides access to electricity, installing clean cooking stoves in clinics can strengthen health systems as they can be used to provide better nutrition (for patients as well as employees) as well as hot water for hygiene purposes.
At the household level the use of traditional forms of energy for cooking causes serious health problems. Biomass fuels such as firewood, dung, agricultural residues and charcoal are often the only energy sources available, and these are usually burned on inefficient open fires or stoves. The toxic smoke emitted by these fires is a major killer in the kitchen. The World Health Organisationii has shown that every year around 1.5 million deaths are caused by indoor air pollution from traditional cooking stoves. Most of these deaths are among women and small children. Furthermore, a substantial number of people incur serious burns, or are injured while gathering firewood (due to accidents or rape). In areas where fuel is scarce, people may also be obliged to make unhealthy choices, such as drinking water that has not been boiled, eating half-cooked meals or skipping meals altogether.
At the household level, in rural areas, EnDev has contributed to improved health conditions by promoting the construction of more than 775,000 well-designed energy-efficient stoves in 15 different countries. The various projects report that the improved stoves emit very little smoke. They have therefore enhanced indoor air quality, as well as the safety and hygiene of kitchens in the households involved. Efficient stoves have also led to lower consumption of firewood, thereby reducing the health risks connected with gathering firewood. Furthermore, the extra income generated by the stove business has indirect effects on health. For instance, 75% of the Ethiopian stove producers claimed that they are now better able to pay for medical and health care for themselves and their families.
At the institutional level, EnDev has provided 16 hospitals with energy-efficient stoves. This has led to better nutrition and hygiene, both for the patients and the cooks. EnDev has also provided access to electricity for approximately 140 health centres, using grid connections or solar energy systems. This access has improved the quality of medical treatment. Electrification of households does not bring immediate improvements to the health situation, although it does make a general contribution, for example, by reducing kerosene-related accidents. This point was made by the beneficiaries of solar electrification projects in Bangladesh and Honduras as well as those with new grid connections in Peru.
Peru'- stoves and electricity for safety
In a self-evaluation by an EnDev project in Peru which provided access to an electricity grid, and promoted energy efficient stoves and solar thermal water heaters, beneficiaries stated that the new stoves reduce smoke emissions inside the kitchen to about zero. They also said that the stoves improve hygiene in the kitchen, which prevents diseases such as diarrhoea, and they reduce incidences of accidental burns, especially among children. At the same time, the respondents pointed to the reduced risk of accidental fires in the home due to the change from kerosene lamps and candles to electric lighting. This is seen as a great benefit of the access to grid electricity. Besides households, social institutions and small enterprises have also been supplied. In terms of access to energy, the situation in the institutional sector resembles that of the households, especially the need for hot water. The distribution of solar water heaters in communal institutions has increased the availability of hot water. This was an important improvement for 90% of the health centres, where it is needed for hygienic purposes, such as cleaning instruments, patient care and handling materials.
Uganda - more stoves, fewer risks
Similar results have been observed in Uganda, where the dissemination of the stove technology was a key component. A household survey showed that people using the improved stoves suffer less from smoke-related diseases than those still using traditional methods (Only 23% of the new stove users complained of eye infections, compared to 43% of those cooking traditionally). Even households that do not use the stove exclusively (48%) benefited from a marked reduction in cooking times (an average of 45% time savings). Households also reported that gathering firewood is associated with certain risks (injuries: 57%, snake bites: 10%). They said that using the improved stove has reduced the amount of time spent gathering firewood by about 53%. Consequently the associated risks and problems are also becoming less common. Furthermore, the wood saved during the cooking process was used to boil water. By contrast, 15% of households cooking on a three-stone fire stated that they do not boil water for drinking, 46% mentioned eating half-cooked meals once or twice a week, and 70% also said they skip some meals due to the lack of firewood. None of the households using the efficient stove mentioned problems of restricted cooking capacity, despite the fact that the district in which the stoves are being used also suffers from extreme scarcity of firewood.
Environment
MDG 7: ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Most sources of energy derive from our natural surroundings, including fossil fuels, biomass, or the sun, the wind and water. Without sound, sustainable management, the production, distribution and consumption of energy all have severe effects on the local and global environment. Deforestation, land degradation, desertification and air pollution from excessive greenhouse gas emissions affect the people of the southern hemisphere most severely. The majority of the population in these regions depend on biomass such as wood and agricultural residues as their primary energy source. This leads to the over-exploitation of biomass stock for cooking and heating, which in most cases intensifies natural risk scenarios. Due to their poverty, however, the people living in these regions have too few alternatives to be able to manage their resources sustainably, and they have little awareness for environmental issues.
Goal 7 of the UN Millennium Development Goals is to achieve environmental sustainability by various means, including reducing the loss of biodiversity. Modern and clean energy services, with improved energy efficiency and the use of clean energy resources, help to ensure environmental sustainability. They reduce the demand for biomass and therefore slow down the destruction of forests; they reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the acidification of land and water. Local adaptability and integration are essential preconditions for the successful promotion of alternative resources and technology options.
Compared to cooking on open fires, the improved stoves emit between one and one and half tonnes of CO2 less per stove annually
Energising Development has contributed to the reduction of environmental degradation through the distribution of energy-saving cooking stoves, mini hydropower applications, solar water heaters, grid extension and small photovoltaic systems for lighting and household electricity needs.
Improved stoves help reduce demand for firewood by 50% on average. They therefore reduce deforestation, soil erosion, land degradation and desertification, and they improve water control. A further consequence of the more efficient burning and the lower demand for firewood is the reduced emission of greenhouse gases. Compared to cooking on open fires, the improved stoves emit between one and one and half tonnes of CO2 less per stove annually. The amount of the CO2 reduction depends (among other factors) on the efficiency of the stove, the quality of the firewood used and the proportion of the country’s biomass stock that is non-renewable. It can therefore only be measured exactly for each individual case. However, with over 775,000 new stoves having been built since 2005, the EnDev projects have made a considerable contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and hence to the fight against climate change. Furthermore, it is acknowledged that EnDev activities have raised environmental awareness among the participants of its cooking energy programmes.
Almost 94,000 households have gained access to electricity since the beginning of EnDev activities. Electrification through grid extension, mini hydropower plants or photovoltaic installations has helped to reduce soil acidification by decreasing the demand for small batteries. Used batteries are usually discarded in the local environment as toxic waste without further treatment. Mini hydropower plants also contribute to increased awareness of environmental issues due to the importance of proper watershed management and reforestation to secure a long-term water supply. Photovoltaic installations, such as solar home systems, do contribute to environmental sustainability by decreasing the demand for kerosene and gasoline. However, special attention must be paid to the proper disposal of the solar charged batteries, a process which is still in its infancy in many project regions.
Nicaragua'– a tree for a stove
The stove component pursues a unique counter-conditioning approach to stove promotion and reforestation. The EnDev partner, Proyecto de Zonas Costeras (PZC), is using stoves as an incentive within their awareness campaign on deforestation. 550 stoves have been subsidised by the project, but the beneficiaries had to commit themselves to plant and care for trees in the PZC reserve area. By undergoing training and nursing the trees, people become aware of the importance of tree planting and reforestation; they get directly involved in theses activities in their home areas and thus develop a feeling of responsibility for their environment.
Mali'– Forest protection in a commercial way
Stove producers received on-the-job training to build energy-saving stoves. Then training was also given in promotion and marketing strategies, business management and quality control mechanisms. Drawing on best practices taken from stove projects in other parts of Africa, the image of the project, with its focus on the environment and forest preservation, was changed to use marketing methods to emphasise the commercial benefits. In short: people don’t buy improved stoves because they want to save the forest but because they will spend less on cooking fuels. The economic benefit is a very strong incentive for buying and using efficient cooking technologies.
Within the German-Nicaraguan project “Sustainable Management of Natural Resources and Strengthening of Entrepreneurship Competencies (MASRENACE)” EnDev follows a multi-facetted strategy of improved energy access for rural households by means of grid extension, mini-grid hydropower electricity, photovoltaic electricity and energy efficient stoves. The stove dissemination is coupled with reforestation efforts by the EnDev partner Proyecto de Zonas Costeras (PZC).
Additional impacts and findings
Energy is central to nearly all aspects of human welfare. It has already been shown that energy services, such as lighting, heating, cooking, motive power, mechanical power and telecommunications,
In Bangladesh, 40% of SHS households reported greater potential to access information and entertainment.
For example, a study of a project in Bangladesh aimed at identifying the link between electricity and sustainable development found several additional benefits of electrification.
One way in which rural electrification can have a positive social impact is through improved media access. Radio and television may have an impact on various aspects of social life. Besides their use for entertainment, radio and television can be regarded as possible agents of change in the sense that they can contribute to education through educational programmes. They supply people with information on what is going on in their country (e.g. news bulletins or weather reports for farmers) and in the world, and they increase people’s knowledge about health and gender-related topics.
In Bangladesh, 40% of households with new solar home system reported that they now have greater potential to receive information and entertainment, thanks to radio and television. Similar effects were reported by the female beneficiaries of an electrification project in Indonesia. Women in Langai listed the advantages of having a television. They especially appreciated receiving information from abroad, which before they had not been able to hear to such an extent. It should be noted, however, that the impact of radio and television is multifaceted. Certain negative effects are sometimes also associated with radio and television usage, such as the loss of time for productive or social activities, or for studying. Electricity also makes charging of mobile phones possible. Other results from Bangladesh include the fact that 18% of respondents were glad of the possibility to charge mobile phones.
There seemed to be an increase in social activity as a result of gatherings taking place in electrified households.
An additional positive social impact of energy for lighting was that it increases feelings of safety and security in rural households, as it discourages theft and robbery. In electrified villages, it not only increases the feeling of safety within homes, it can also make people feel safer moving around. This was the case for women in Pancung Taba, Indonesia, who reported that before electricity, they were often afraid to go out in darkness, and that electricity had increased their social activity. Even if this greater perception of safety might not be justified in terms of an actual decline in thefts and other incidents, the fact that lighting makes people feel more secure is an important psychological effect.
In Bangladesh, on the other hand, solar PV technology was not used for public lighting, and the improved feelings of safety only occurred within households that owned a solar home system. 34% of people questioned cited their improved lighting conditions and 26% claimed this made it easier to move around in their houses after dark. 12% of respondents felt more secure due to household lighting. Despite the lack of artificial light in public spaces, there nevertheless seemed to be an increase in social activity due to social gatherings taking place in electrified households.
It is sometimes argued that energy services keep rural populations from migrating to urban areas. Advocates of this idea hold that access to modern energy services improves quality of life and removes the reasons to migrate. However, evidence for such a relationship is ambiguous. It may even be the case that access to modern energy services increases outward migration, because improved socioeconomic development raises people’s expectations.
Additional findings were also obtained from a study in Malawi. Here, it was shown that involvement in the use or production of improved stoves has a positive effect on a person’s social position in the village. Such people often acquired a reputation for being innovative and were thought to contribute to village development; thus they enjoy the appreciation of many families.
Making impacts sustainable
Sustainability and access to energy
The concept of sustainable development generally includes three elements: economic development, social equity and maintaining a healthy environment. This points to an explicit link between access to energy services and sustainable development. After all, access to modern energy services influences all aspects of development: economic, social, and environmental. It affects agricultural productivity, health, education, and gender issues. Moreover, sustainability inherently implies that projects should secure long-term results. In other words, projects should be implemented in a way that ensures activities persist, even after the project has ended.
Sustainability and Energising Development
For EnDev, planning, implementing and monitoring development interventions is guided by the objective to provide long-term sustainable access to modern energy services in developing countries. Activities should focus on energy services and resources that are reliable, affordable, economically viable, socially acceptable and environmentally sound. Subsidies,
either direct or indirect, should be used only temporarily to overcome certain barriers to entry or market development. Moreover, ownership and participation of the target group needs to be guaranteed and the activities themselves must be efficient in terms of their costs and benefits. To ensure that activities continue after projects end, EnDev uses a commercial approach that involves establishing functioning markets for the energy products and services. These markets should include permanently available commercial services and productive capability, as well as constant demand for products.
Under EnDev the main criteria for sustainability are:
- demand-orientation in the partner country to guarantee project ownership and long-term sustainability
- coherent political, legal and regulatory frameworks for improving access to modern energy
- participation of national, regional and local authorities as well as civil society
- recognition of the central role of the private sector in creating markets for modern energy services
- consideration of social issues including gender
- consideration of environmental issues
- development of locally available human and institutional capacities for the long-term self-sustaining expansion of energy access.
Malawi'- a success story for commercial stove production
For projects that promote the use of improved stoves, ensuring the continuation of activities after the end of the project implies that the users should appreciate the stoves. This can be measured in terms both of the take-up rate among new customers, and the replacement rate among existing users. At the same time, continuity of stove production should be guaranteed. The results of a study in the districts of Mulanje, Ntcheu and Thyolo show that, on the demand side, people have been happy to adopt the improved stove technology. In Mulanje, where the stoves were first introduced in a self-help project in 1999/2000, the user rate has risen by a factor of three since 2004. The rate has been accelerating since the commercialisation of the approach in 2003, which indicates that commercial stove production has been established successfully.
The study also indicates that the commercial approach seems to favour user acceptance and demand, as well as the stove supply, which means production of the improved stoves is a profitable business for the producers. The clay stoves have an average lifespan of two years. Thus, the replacement of old or broken stoves with new ones is a good indicator of the sustainability of their use, and of changing cooking patterns. The data indicates that the share of households that had used an improved stove, but did not replace it after it was damaged, is
is 8%. These households returned to the exclusive use of a 3-stone-fire.
On the supply side, the prospect is similarly optimistic: most of the producer groups have established continuous production, albeit on a small scale. They have acquired suitable marketing and promotion skills, which suggests they are likely to continue their business without further support. Moreover, all the producers interviewed said they appreciate their business and are willing to continue with production and sales.
Ethiopia'- an initial subsidy with a clear exit strategy
A similar study was conducted to assess the impacts of an improved stove commercialisation project in four regions of Ethiopia. The project took a market-oriented approach, but it tried to
