Traditional cooking practices in Ghana, especially in rural areas, can pose a range of risks and challenges, both in terms of people's health and the environment. These include health risks due to the resulting smoke as well as increasing deforestation and environmental degradation due to the high demand for fuelwood.
To counter these issues, we, in collaboration with a German apprentice in metal processing and the Methodist Rural Technology Facility, have developed a clean pyrolysis stove. This stove was built in a metal workshop here in Offinso and contributes to the creation of local jobs. The stove is simply loaded with firewood from the top and ignited. It provides a very hot cooking flame for about an hour. Afterwards, the stove can be emptied. The firewood doesn't turn to ash but produces valuable charcoal due to the special wood gasification process. The stove can also be used as a charcoal burner.
It has been proven that this type of stove can save up to 80% of firewood compared to, for example, a three-stone cooker. This leads to an economically higher efficiency as less money is needed to buy firewood and on the same time the produced charcoal can be used for another purpose.
Additionally, this stove significantly reduces smoke exposure, which often leads to eye problems and health issues, particularly in women. Therefore, it is also protecting the environment and reduces air pollution. Another advantage is definitely the mobility of the stove. Since it is easy to handle, it can be carried to any place possible. Therefore, it can be used even it rains heavily.
By implementing this project, we also pursuit the goal of establishing a stove selling business in order to improve local employment possibilities for the youth. Ghana grapples with a persistent youth unemployment issue, despite overall economic growth. Limited access to quality education and skills training exacerbates the problem, despite government efforts to mitigate it. Addressing high youth unemployment is crucial for Ghana's economic advancement and the well-being of its young population.
Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 we haven’t been able to continue the project. Once we have the opportunity and financial means, we will continue this valuable project.
