edit this page Introducing alcohol stoves to refugee communities
[top] [end]Project Gaia in Ethiopia Project Gaia’s pilot study of the ethanol-fuelled CleanCook Stove seeks to bring an alternative cooking fuel to refugees in order to alleviate the environmental and health and safety problems related to fuelwood gathering. The work is being funded by the Shell Foundation with assistance from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Regional Liaison Office and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
A total of 130 ethanol stoves are being tested in the Kebrebeyah camp. The camp is divided into seven administrative zones. Ateam comprising two team leaders, two field surveyors and translators attended a UNHCR Kebrebeyah meeting in Jijiga and visited a total of 20 study households, and neighbouring homes without ethanol stoves, selected from six of the seven zones in the camp. The team asked about the CleanCook stove, cooking and fuelwood gathering.
This report outlines some of the findings on how the project is addressing needs through the introduction of this ethanol stove (Figure 1).  Figure 1: Ethanol-fuelled CleanCook stove |
[top] [end]The Kebrebeyah refugee community The UNHCR Kebrebeyah Camp, established in 1991, is home to approximately 13,000 Somali refugees from various communities. Some households have a small kitchen separate from their sleeping quarters; most families cook and sleep in the one building. The refugee community is situated on arid and semi-arid land. Deforestation and subsequent soil erosion appears to be the cause of the absence of most forms of vegetation and scarce natural water sources in the areas surrounding the camp (Protti-Alvarado 5).
[top] [end]Risk of physical assault and injury In October 2005, staff from Project Gaia attended a UNHCR Kebrebeyah meeting in Jijiga. The camp’s Protection Officer stated passionately that most of the problem is caused by the need for firewood, which takes from six to ten hours a journey to collect (often four or more times per week), as people need firewood three times a day. Women and children have lots of problems with farmers. Women and girls find it difficult to describe to a male doctor the kidney pains and backaches from gathering firewood; likewise, rape victims are reluctant to discuss what has befallen them. They ask for a separate woman doctor or nurse, and they ask for counselling for rape and women’s issues.
A spokesperson for the Administration for Refugees and Returnees Affairs (ARRA) noted, ‘Girls and children spend 8 to 10 hours a day journeying to get firewood. The farmers take the wood from them. I believe the biggest challenge in the camp is the fuelwood gathering and charcoal production with the locals and refugees.’
 Figure 2 : Woman sitting beside a load ofwood she has recently collected |
The UNHCR Assistant Program Officer in Jijiga, reported, ‘The biggest challenges I find for the camp are: child labour, the rape of girls, and physical abuse while collecting firewood, especially for women and children. We need to ensure physical protection.’
In addition to the demand for fuelwood, the collection of wood for building dwellings was the major challenge to the housing issue according to one attendee, who stated, ‘Since the women make the homes, there is the problem of rape and assault.’
The camp doctor observed: ‘There is the issue of energy, tremendous physical energy being lost when gathering fuel (Figure 2). They go for long hours. There is the rape of fuel gatherers. If a woman is in the camp for a long time, the locals target her, because they know she is from the camp. There is no time for education or for income-generating activities. There are insufficient well-educated women here to provide female social workers. Out of fifteen social workers,only three are female due to a lack of education among girls.’ Other attendees mention that it is difficult for the girls to go to school when they have to help gather fuelwood or fetch water.
As evidenced by the statements above from those who work closely with the Kebrebeyah refugees, addressing the problems associated with fuelwood gathering is paramount to improving the lives of refugees in the UNHCR Kebrebeyah Camp.
[top] [end]Narratives from refugees living in Kebrebeyah There are many serious issues identified by those living in the camp. The problems they indicate and the changes brought about by the ethanol stove are illustrated by quotations from the women themselves; many of these observations were common to several of those being interviewed. Note that the team were only asking about the stove, cooking and fuelwood gathering. Thus, the benefits of children not breathing in polluting fuels,and the improved cleanliness of the stove were evident to those visiting the households, but did not feature highly in the responses.
[top] [end]Fuel collection – physical assault Beatings, rape, risk of death, fuel taken away
- The landlords hit the women with sticks. ‘I was beaten by farmers. I had marks and bruises on my body;I felt a lot of pain. The farmer owns the land. There is some rape. Women and girls are raped.’
- ‘The farmers beat you and take your wood.’ When asked if she had ever been beaten while gathering wood, G. . . exclaimed, ‘Yes, they beat me! They punched me and hit me with sticks. I had bruises on my back and legs.’
- When asked how they try to protect themselves when gathering fuelwood, the woman crouched.down and tip-toed, saying, ‘We sneak like this and hide in groups.’
- ‘There’s no problem with males collecting wood, because males can fight back.So the farmers don’t bother us like they do the women and girls,’ one man stated.
- R... pointed to the horizontal scar on her forehead caused by the beating and motioned her hand around her head, saying, ‘They [the medical staff] put a bandage around my head.’ R... added, ‘After they beat me, they stole my firewood.’
- ‘There is rape sometimes of girls and women by the locals. Sometimes the place where you collect wood belongs to the locals. They say they’ll kill you, they’ll rape. Sunnis have been raped.’
- ‘Landlords can kill you and take your wood.’
- ‘They are killing and beating the women and girls who collect wood.’
- ‘These women [neighbours without stoves] spoke in agreement about women and girls being raped and beaten when gathering fuelwood.’
- ‘We [the women] gathered fuelwood together for safety.’
- J... said that she and her sister know someone who was raped – this was not confirmed by her sister, however...
- ...based on testimony from the camp’s doctor and other advocates at the UNHCR meeting a day earlier, it is possible that the sister did not confirm the statement because of the stigma of rape and because the sister may herself have been the victim. Also, it is often difficult for women and girls to speak of rape to male translators or doctors.
[top] [end]Dangers from the terrain – pain and injuries - Fuel gatherers carry several kilos of firewood on their backs and walk many miles, causing dehydration, physical pain and injuries, especially to their back, legs, and kidneys, according to the doctor in the Kebrebeyah camp.
- Amar’s hands and wrists are badly injured from a fall sustained when carrying a large load of fuelwood when it was rainy. Dried up blood was visible on her hands. Amar said, ‘My hands are broken, so my son is cooking for me. I cannot cook with my hands.
- ‘I fell down one time carrying wood, and I have a scar on my head.’
- ‘I had pain in my back, kidneys, and legs.’
- ‘I collected wood before, and it was heavy on my back and it left marks on my neck.’A...showed us where she had marks from her collarbone over her shoulder dueto the opes that are tied to the load of wood. She adds, ‘I collected wood 4 times each week for 5 hours each time. My 3 daughters also collected wood.
- ‘Also, I get backaches and leg pain from collecting wood.’
- ‘Before we had this stove, I had coughing and eye irritation. I had back pain from collecting wood.’
- ‘When I collected wood, I had back and kidney pain.’
[top] [end]Fuel collection – time impacts Time collecting fuel - When I gathered wood, I was very tired. I had to walk very far.I left in the morning and returned at 3 pm. I gathered wood for 5–6 hours.’
- ‘I collected wood before the Clean-Cook Stove 2 times each week.Most times I was gone from 7 am to 8 pm. Sometimes I was only gone for 5 to 8 hours. The problem is scarcity of wood. It takes a long time to search for wood.’
- ‘Before, we used wood. It took us 7 hours, 3 days each week to collect wood.’
- ‘Before I used wood. I had back pain from collecting wood 8 hours, 4 times each week.’
- ‘Before we had the stove, my two daughters collected wood three days each week. They would make two trips each time [day] from morning until 7 pm. The wood lasts about 5 days for 10 people.’
- ‘I collected wood for 8 hours, 3 times each week.’
[top] [end]Fuel collection – education impacts - ‘Before we had the stove, my two daughters collected wood three days each week.’
- ‘My sister and I [aged 14 & 15] miss school 2 or 3 days each week to collect wood. Missing school is a problem. We walk very far and carry 4 or 5 kilos on our backs. Teacher asks us, ‘Why don’t you come to school?’ Missing school to collect firewood hurts our grades.’(Figure 3).
- Before, I collected firewood 7 hours a day, 3 to 4 times a week. I left early to collect firewood and my children stayed home alone. They were absent from school.because I had to collect firewood. Now I cook food early so the children go to school.’
 Figure 3: Missing school to collect fuel hurts our grades |
[top] [end]Benefits of CleanCook stove use - ‘The CleanCook is much faster than the traditional stove.’
- ‘Now I rest with the CleanCook Stove, because I do not have to collect wood. And it is faster cooking with the CleanCook Stove.’
- ‘It saves me from going very far to get wood, and I no longer have eye irritation. Now I have more time for a social life and my kids.’
- ‘From the time saved from not collecting wood with the CleanCook Stove, I take care of my 4 children and family. I have no back pain now.’
- ‘Now I do not use wood since I have this stove.’
- ‘I had eye irritation and coughing from the wood stove. I don’t have eye irritation or coughing with the CleanCook Stove.’
- ‘The CleanCook Stove is better than the charcoal; it is quicker and cleaner. Also, the charcoal causes eye irritation.’
- ‘I like the stove. It’s very good. We need more stoves. The neighbours want stoves. I would like to have another stove. I cook tea, enjera and milk on the stove.’ (Figure 4)
- ‘Before I used wood for cooking. Look at my ceiling! It is black from the wood. I have no eye irritation and I have no coughing with the CleanCook Stove.’
- ‘I had coughing and eye irritation with the charcoal stove. I no longer have those problems, and the CleanCook Stove is safer for my children than the charcoal stove.’
 Figure 4: Stove with hotplate for cooking enjera a staple food |
The narratives alone speak of the positive effects of the CleanCook Stove in the Kebrebeyah refugee camp. The twenty study homes that were visited prefer the ethanol-fuelled CC Stove to their other stoves and fuels. Women and girls say they have more time, with the CC Stove, to care for children and attend school; they speak of the risk of rape and being beaten when gathering fuelwood. Their neighbours asked how they too can receive a CC Stove.
The UNHCR Kebrebeyah staff noted that since some of the Somali study households are sharing the stove and cooking for several families on it, they must value the stove. We were told that the Somalis assist each other and only share something if they like it; if they do not like something, they will sell it. Project Gaia’s plan for 2006 is to distribute a total of 1000 new stoves to UNHCR’s Kebrebeyah camp and to reach all families in 2007. Due to the sensitive issue of discrimination among the different communities, Project Gaia and UNHCR will monitor the distribution of the stoves so that all communities with qualifying households receive the opportunity to participate in the study.
[top] [end]Policy implications/recommendations Given the acceptance of the Clean-Cook Stove by residents and the resulting decrease in fuelwood gathering by those families using the stove, the UNHCR should consider expanding its use to other refugee camps within and outside of Ethiopia, wherever a supply of ethanol is available for purchase. In Kenya, as in Ethiopia, there is an existing domestic ethanol supply with potential for expansion that could be used to fuel the stove in UNHCR camps. The 2006 refugee population in Ethiopia has been estimated at 120,000, while Kenya’s is estimated at twice that number.
In Kenya UNHCR purchases and imports fuelwood into several camps.It may eventually have to do this in Ethiopia. ‘To try to reduce the number of women being sexually assaulted as they collected firewood outside two major camps in Kenya, UNHCR paid local contractors to haul the wood directly into the sites’ (Wilkinson).Instead of contracting for the purchase of wood, a switch to the ethanol-fuelled stove would decrease or eliminate the need for fuelwood, whether purchased or gathered. This action would:
 Figure 5: Mother carrying her baby whilecooking |
- Decrease or eliminate accidental injuries, violent confrontation and sexual assaults of women and children.
- Decrease the negative effects or ‘fall out’ in the community associated with competition for the use of scarce biomass resources.
- Eliminate the likelihood that continued reliance on fuelwood would continue to degrade the environment.Currently, the deforestation in the area is so extreme that the need for firewood of both the locals and refugees is harming the environment and causing conflict.
- Reduce exposure to indoor air pollution. Mothers often cook while carrying their babies (Figure 5).Indoor air pollution is a major cause of pneumonia in children under five years, and of chronic
- Reduce the administrative and financial burdens on the UNHCR and its partners caused by health and resource conflict problems that come with the use of fuelwood.
- Protti-Alvarado, Fernando and Dr. Amare GEgziabher. UNHCR/EESS Environmental Management Fact Sheet. UNHCR: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2003.
- Wilkinson, Ray, Ed. ‘Crossing the Rubicon.’ Refugees Vol. 2, No. 139. UNHCR: Geneva, Switzerland, 2005.
Images: Cheryl O’Brien, James Murren and Melat Esayas.
[top] [end]Download the original article  Introducing alcohol stoves to refugee communities; a case study from Kebrebeyah, Ethiopia by Cheryl O’Brien (492 KB)
[top] [end]Contents: Boiling Point 52 - Health, safety and household energy  . |
Theme editorial: Household energy for life - Update on the health and climate impacts of household solid fuels - Spreading innovative biomass stove technologies through China and beyond - Pollution factors affecting health and safety in rural Zimbabwe - Protecting children from indoor air pollution exposure through outdoor cooking in rural South Africa - Direct contact hazards of cookstoves - Burns, cuts, and scalds - Introducing alcohol stoves to refugee communities - GTZ News BP52 - Household energy, indoor air pollution and health at the 14th session - The effect of ventilation on carbon monoxide and particulate levels in a test kitchen - Methanol stoves for indoor air pollution reduction in Delta State Nigeria - Solar cooking and health - Fuel briquettes from wastes - Charcoal making from agricultural residues - What's happening in household energy BP52? – Energy News From Practical Action BP52
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