Purpose-built, wood-burning cook stoves have been in use for hundreds of years, so could they really be made any more efficient? And even if we could improve stove design, would it make that much of a difference?

The answer to both questions is an emphatic yes.

Read the rest of the article at Greenbang.

A portion of the proceeds benefit the Global NGO Oxfam America in associations with The Darfur Stoves Project. Experience includes signature Mr. C’s brunch cuisine prepared by experienced Cipriani chefs, sponsored beverages and and promotions. General reception admission to the 12th floor of Mr. C’s with swag bag including exclusive products unparalleled 360 degree panoramic views.

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Ashok won in the category Lifetime Achievement for an Individual for his work on the Berkeley-Darfur Stove and received a prize of $500,000.

The other two winners were the Carbon Disclosure project, in the SMEs & NGOs category, and Schneider Electric, in the Large Corporations category.

Read more about the Zayed Future Energy Prize at WAM and gulfnews.com.

This October we returned to Darfur to check on the progress of our marketing trial. The trial is being led by our local Marketing Officer, Nazik Ismail of Sustainable Action Group. To date, we have provided more than 20,000 stoves free of charge to Darfuri women. Nazik, a native Darfuri woman, is helping us transition from free distribution to selling the stoves, which will ensure that the stoves are valued by users while maintaining the long-term sustainability of the project.

According to Jan Maes, our consultant who traveled to Darfur, “there is a huge demand — many people had already heard about the stoves (referred to as the 5-Minute Stove) before they attended a demonstration. Selling the stoves was easy, as most women were very eager to own this stove that had a reputation for cooking fast and cutting their firewood expenses by half.”

Customers have the choice of paying for the stove in full or through installment payments. These payment plans make the stoves affordable to all Darfuri women because the stove saves a woman more money in firewood expenses each month than the amount she pays for each installment. Women use the initial savings to help pay for the stove and continue to accumulate lump sums of cash for years afterwards.

The goal of this trial is to learn more about the market potential, so we are starting small — with only 500 stoves. But as soon as word got out that the stoves were for sale, more than 500 people signed up to receive one, so we already have back orders. Volunteers, students and community leaders were trained in using the stove, and then demonstrated the stoves at public events in their communities. Some women had heard about the stove before the demonstrations and were so eager to get one that they came to these demonstrations ready with their first installment payment!

Through this new market-driven approach and Nazik’s leadership, we will be able to reach many more women in Darfur and create a thriving, sustainable local market for cookstoves. Based on the success of this marketing trial, we are expanding it to many more communities in Darfur (and soon in Ethiopia!). In each new location, we will donate an initial batch of stoves, which our local partners will sell to women. Our local partners then use this sales revenue to purchase the next batch of stoves for the community. In this way, women are passing on the gift enabling other women in their communities to receive stoves — stoves that save wood, reduce toxic emissions, improve their health, enable them to save money, and protect them from harm — for generations to come. With your support, we will continue to empower these women to create their own solutions to poverty.

I first listened to the woman focused on stirring the roasting beans as she explained that they are the first of SIQQEE’s many women’s groups and that with seed funding, they are now able to earn a small income by selling grain at their local market.

The group was pleased that I was sharing my first coffee ceremony experience with them and astounded when they learned that scientists in the U.S. had tailor made a stove for Ethiopia. To help address Ethiopia’s high rates of deforestation and diseases caused by inhalation of cooking smoke, our partner, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) developed the Berkeley-Ethiopia Stove™. This stove is similar to the stove that we distribute in Darfur but has been adapted for Ethiopian culture and cooking. The new design includes features such as notches that hold a coffee roasting pan in place and metal rods that hold a jebena, the traditional pot used throughout Ethiopia to brew coffee.

Debra visiting with a women’s group from the Ethiopian organization, SIQQEE in the Oromia region of Ethiopia.

As the first round of coffee was poured into small cups and served to everyone sitting in our circle, one woman described to me the day-long journey she takes each week to collect heavy loads of firewood for cooking. With over 90% of the Ethiopian population dependent on firewood and charcoal for cooking and lighting, deforestation has forced these women to travel further and further, taking up their valuable time that could be used for more productive pursuits.

One woman’s loud cough throughout our discussion was a reminder that these women are all too familiar with the harmful effects of cooking. The need for fuel-saving stoves around the world is tremendous. In fact, the need is so great in Ethiopia that the government recently committed to putting nine million clean cookstoves into use throughout the country by 2015. But they need the help of groups like us who have the ability to link the world’s best science with local customs. The innovative technology of the Berkeley-Ethiopia Stove™ can help lift many Ethiopians out of poverty.

The women expressed their eagerness to learn new job skills as stove sales agents and to serve as role models to young girls. This seemed especially fitting when I learned the name of their group means “growing by working” in the Oromo language.

As my second cup of coffee was filled, I told them more about our work in Darfur. Despite the already significant hardships that these women face, they audibly gasped when they heard about the dangers that await Darfuri women when gathering firewood.

As we sipped our final cup of coffee, the women volunteered to use the stove to prepare meals for their families and suggested that they demonstrate the stove at their local market. Zertihun will report back with the women’s feedback, which will help us to ensure that Ethiopian families are getting the greatest possible value from their stoves.

I left that day feeling over-caffeinated and inspired to hear from these women who are so eager to create their own opportunity that they volunteered to do a market trial. We’re very excited about the chance to help them and with your support, we will. I look forward to reporting on our progress!