Background
Since 2003, the war in Darfur has led to the influx of over 230,000 refugees into Eastern Chad. These refugees are divided across 12 camps in the Wadi Fira region, bordering Sudan. The influx of refugees has mobilized a response from the United Nations and other humanitarian organisations working to improve the living conditions of refugees. The problem of cooking on open fires in the camps, the only option for the refugees to cook, is one the problems the organisations wanted to solve. The climate is semi-arid and rainfall is scarce and irregular. Natural resources such as water and firewood are increasingly rare, requiring the refugee population to travel increasingly large distances to collect firewood. This is a high-risk activity, with many women assaulted or raped.
The project
To help tackle this problem, the Gold Standard ‘Solar Cooking in Chad’ microscale project has been set up. The project aims to meet basic domestic energy needs through the provision of solar cookers for use in the refugee camps. The on-site manufactured solar cookers, made from water repellent cardboard and aluminium foil, replaces demand for firewood, improving the livelihoods of refugees residing in the eastern part of Chad while delivering positive environmental impacts.
The solar cookers are an effective and resilient alternative to the use of firewood for cooking, leveraging the abundant solar resources available in Chad. Since the start of programme solar cookers has been provided to 3,512 households in the Iridimi refugee camp. In addition to delivering significant humanitarian and sustainable development benefits (like job creation in camp, skill development, better air quality, safety and health etc.), the programme contributes to reducing GHG emissions by approximately 8,850 tCO2e annually.
Collaboration
Climate Neutral Group works with the project by investing in the manufacturing, distribution, and further growth of this unique solar cooker project through the purchase of carbon credits. This allows the project to improve people’s access to a clean cooking solution. This initiative carries a Gold Standard certification. The Gold Standard certification guarantees that the effects, monitoring, and auditing of emission-reducing projects are done properly. In addition, Climate Neutral Group is a member of The International Carbon Reduction and Offset Alliance (ICROA). We have a strong focus on Clean Cooking solutions due to the high-impact nature of these projects. We are member of the Global Alliance for Clean Cook Stoves and we are a Certified B Corp organization.
