Caritas Denmark – PESITHO

Local Solutions to Local Problems – Caritas & Pesitho

Sarah Feldes — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 13:08:28 +0000

Local Solutions to Local Problems

How Pesitho supports help for self-help

At Pesitho we are proud to be working together with strong partners such as Caritas Denmark, whom we have been able to establish a successful working relationship.
One of the outcomes of this ongoing collaboration is the establishment of a locally run cooperative located outside of the Bidibidi refugee settlement in Uganda.

What is a cooperative and how does this one work?

Pesitho and Caritas have the aim to provide families in refugee and vulnerable settings with facilities and guidelines needed to sustain themselves and fulfil their everyday cooking-needs in a sustainable and healthy way.

A major point of attention is the focus on integrating and developing local skills, training, knowledge and capacity, rather than enforcing or promoting a one-size-fits-all solution that generates benefits for only parts of the community.

Therefore, we have established this local cooperative which creates a circular economy within the local community.

Pesitho provides the cooperative with its ECOCA cook stoves, the solar-powered cooking units that enable cooking at least three meals a day for an entire family in a healthy and environmentally friendly way.

Because the ECOCA runs on solar power, no wood fuel for cooking is needed, reducing deforestation and air-pollution through smoke while cooking and saving a significant amount from collecting firewood during the day.

Furthermore, people can become members of the coop by taking on jobs in the local production, sales, technology, or support departments of the ECOCA in the community, providing a sustainable income for families.

A significant advantage to this type of model is the element of community ownership. This means that the members of the cooperative have a voice and can represent their community in decision-making processes that influence both their lives and the environment.

In this way, money generated from working in the cooperative flows directly back into the local community, creating the circular economy system that provides people with sustainable prospects, contributes to improved health, and reduces deforestation.

Watch the video on the workings of the cooperative here:

Individual training on the ECOCA

admin — Tue, 19 May 2020 15:54:40 +0000

Working with our local partners from Karuna Mission Social Solidarity and Caritas Uganda, we at Pesitho have been able to ensure that each individual family receiving the ECOCA, will receive full training on their new cookstove. This not only to gives a greater sense of confidence when using the ECOCA for their everyday needs like cooking, charging and using the lamps, but also allows for better a sense of ownership.

We understand that changing ones cooking methods as well as adapting to new technology can feel overwhelming, deterring people from integrating the ECOCA into their daily routine. In this way, individual training can ensure that the end users feel comfortable adopting the cook stove, learning how to use the solar panel, the different modes of cooking, charging small electronic items and making best use of the two ECOCA lamps.

We want our ECOCA households to enjoy the process of cooking without being exposed to the harmful pollutants that derive from cooking with solid biomass and plastic. In this way, families will also spend less time on fuel collection benefiting both family members daily life and environmental impacts.

Pesitho and Caritas Denmark partnership with Novo Nordisk Foundation

admin — Tue, 19 May 2020 13:57:47 +0000

There are some great developments happening with our ECOCA in Uganda with Caritas Denmark and Novo Nordisk Foundation / Novo Nordisk Fonden.

The project in Uganda is part of a wider initiative financed by Caritas Denmark under a strategic partnership agreement with the Danish International Development Agency (Danida). The Novo Nordisk Foundation has also awarded a grant of DKK 749,944 for the project!

This new project by Caritas Denmark in Uganda aims to establish and test some funding mechanisms to ensure the wider use of ECOCA. One of these mechanisms is creating a revolving fund. This will be financed by the income that Caritas Denmark receives from the instalment payments for each ECOCA sold and by the income from carbon credits. The money can then be used to subsidize the purchase of additional ECOCA cookers, so that more families can benefit from this technology.

Read more here:

Feedback from our work in Myanmar with the ECOCA

admin — Tue, 12 May 2020 16:21:05 +0000

We have had some updates from our team in Myanmar, where Marco from Pesitho, has been working hard training our partners from Karuna Mission Social Solidarity (KMSS) on resolving any issues with the ECOCA cookstove. Earlier this year Pesitho and Caritas installed 50 solar powered ECOCA cookstoves across Kaupaunpin and Kapen villages in Myanmar. Having local field staff readily available to assist with any technical challenges that may arise is crucial for the longevity of the cookstove.

Cooking

So far, the ECOCA families have been cooking with the ECOCA between 2-3 times a day making dishes like soups, vegetables, rice, curry and boiling water several times a day. The families have stated they do not miss cooking with traditional fires which create a lot of smoke, often giving them headaches, sore throats and making them dizzy.

Lamps

Many ECOCA families mentioned they greatly benefit from the ECOCA additional features including the portable LED lamps, which have become the permanent light source in the families living rooms and kitchens. The lamps help to extend their daily activities into the evening, also help save money on candles.

Daw Iodesia, shown in these photos, can be seen making a standing lamp from the ECOCA LED lamp. Daw has explained that she now uses 1/3 of the firewood than used before since receiving the ECOCA.

Firewood

Being solar powered, the ECOCA aims to reduce firewood consumption and the impact this has deforestation and illnesses associated with burning solid fuels. According to Clean Cooking Alliance, in Myanmar, ‘93% of the population relies on solid fuel for their household cooking needs, contributing to environmental deforestation and desertification. Clean cooking is instrumental to improving energy access in Myanmar’ (Clean Cooking Alliance).

Information from Caritas Denmark shows within Kaupaunpin and Kapen villages, pieces of plastic have become fuel for lighting fires and even for cooking, for many of the villagers due to the lack of firewood. The smoke from the fire has therefore become a lot more harmful than it was before.

This makes the need for access to clean and affordable energy particularly when it comes to cooking, even more important to ensure improved livelihoods for vulnerable people and to continue to shine a light on such a large issue that takes place in everyday life.

References:

Clean Cooking Alliance,. Myanmar Fact Sheet, Washington DC: The Clean Cooking Alliance .