Who knew?
In 2012 around the globe, 4.3 million people, mainly women and children, die from household air pollution from cooking with solid fuels - these deaths are linked to inhaling carbon monoxide/pollutants from stoves that burn wood, biomass or coal.
Nearly 3 billion people, mainly in developing countries like Nigeria, Haiti and Kenya, continue to rely on solid fuels and open fires for their energy needs. These open fires contribute to household air pollution up to 20 times more than accepted guidelines advise, according to the World Health Organization. That equates to smoking two packs of cigarettes, according to one WHO report.
But EcoZoom and other companies like it provide cleaner, live-saving alternatives to the open fires that are killing millions:
EcoZoom currently offers three main options in the field. The wood-burning Zoom Dura reduces the amount of wood or biomass typically needed by 50%, and reduces harmful emissions by 70%. The charcoal-burning Zoom Jet reduces the amount of charcoal needed by 60% and emissions by 45%. The Zoom Versa burns wood, charcoal and biomass, reducing fuel costs by 53% and emissions by 70%.
Depending on the market, the cookstoves cost between $20 and $50 (though, in some cases, third-party organizations may help offset the cost for more impoverished communities), and usually last up to five years.
In addition to environmental and economic advantages, EcoZoom's rocket stoves can also help advance gender equality. Because women in these communities are often in charge of the cooking as well as purchasing decisions, they can use the money normally spent on fuel to pursue other opportunities.
Furthermore, clean cookstoves help these women avoid gender-based violence, which is a common risk they take every time they go out to collect firewood or other fuel.
Phil Ferranto is the co-founder of EcoZoom, which was started/launched in Portland, Oregon. Over time, EcoZoom worked with organizations in places like Mexico, South Africa, Somalia, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Haiti but they decided they wanted to find a market it could enter in a more significant way — where it could set up an office and create more jobs through local manufacturing. As a result, they set up shop in Nairobi, Kenya:
"Nairobi had about 1.5 million people who would cook on an open fire or charcoal, and their energy costs were...15% or 20% of their income, just to cook. Which is astounding, if you think about it," Ferranto says.
With so much income going to fuel, EcoZoom's stoves offered a real, tangible payback on a household's initial investment in Nairobi within three or four months, based on fuel savings alone. EcoZoom has since ramped up its team in Nairobi, forging alliances with local organizations and distributors, and has also developed a parallel program in Rwanda.
EcoZoom isn't the only company out there developing and manufacturing clean cookstoves for so much of the developing world. But EcoZoom sets itself apart by acknowledging that there is never a one-size-fits-all solution, hence their success. But they also get involved in the value chain, allowing themselves to make a substantial difference. Members of the EcoZoom team take stoves home to see how it works from an end user perspective - seeing how a user might want to store it or clean it, and really get a full understanding of the product that one can only know by actually using the product.
"[Our] approach gets products to people that need them, reduces the amount of energy consumption these households are using, puts more money in their pockets, and also saves a bunch of lives in the process," Ferranto says.
EcoZoom is currently developing a wood pellet stove, which will burn between 85% and 90% cleaner than an open fire. EcoZoom is also developing and integrating other ecological products into the mix, including solar lamps, water filters and reusable sanitary pads.
http://mashable.com/...
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As I said earlier, EcoZoom is not the only company developing cook stoves to be used around the globe. The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is a worldwide effort with a clear mission:
The Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is a public-private partnership that seeks to save lives, improve livelihoods, empower women, and protect the environment by creating a thriving global market for clean and efficient household cooking solutions.
We support a market-based approach that brings together the assets of the public and private sectors to ensure positive financial, social, and environmental returns and allows us to address household air pollution at scale.
If you would like to become involved with the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves or learn more about their mission, click on the link below:
http://cleancookstoves.org/...