Letter from the Executive Director
Earlier this month, I visited our projects in Darfur. During my three-week trip, I spent countless hours with women who, for the past six months, have cooked each day with the Berkeley-Darfur Stove. These women–Zakia, Atima, Hawa, Mariam, and many others–told me how their stove saves them time and money, and is less smoky than cooking over a three-stone fire. They are able to feed their family more and take some much-needed rest in their daily struggle.
I also spent several days working with our partners, Oxfam America and Sustainable Action Group, to analyze data we collected in our surveys of stove users. We looked at the responses of 100 women in January 2010, right before they received their Berkeley-Darfur Stove, and compared them with responses of the same women six months later. These surveys allow us to understand the collective impact of our stoves. Here are some of the changes we found:
- Women report an average reduction in firewood expenses of 66%
- Half of the women who were collecting firewood are now able to afford the smaller amount they need and have ceased venturing into unsafe areas for wood
- Before receiving the stove, 80% of the women were concerned about their exposure to smoke during cooking. Six months after receiving the Berkeley-Darfur Stove, this number dropped to 28%
These women need our support so they can provide food to their families in a safer, healthier, and less environmentally damaging way.
- Andree Sosler
