A few weeks back, a radio reporter from US-based Public Radio International contacted us to discuss charcoal, woodfuels, and briquettes projects in Haiti. We are pleased to share with you her story. “Before the recent earthquake, Haiti was no stranger to natural disasters. In recent years, thousands of people have been killed by floods and landslides. To understand why the toll is so high, one need look no further than the country’s bald mountains. Haiti has lost about 97 % of its forests. And the main culprit is the nation’s most popular cooking fuel: charcoal. Reporter Amy Bracken looks at Continue reading
Humanitarian relief
BBC: Life-saving stove in the Congo
First the FT mentioned it. We blogged about it in December. Then CNN’s Anderson Cooper did a piece. Now it’s the BBC’s turn to take a whack a it, albeit with a twist. Whatever the case, I always learn something new from this story. In this case, it’s the alarming statistic that 90 percent of the women who travel to the forest for fuel reported been harassed, raped, or experienced violence while collecting woodfuel. Continue reading
CNN’s Anderson Cooper reports on stove project in Congo
CNN’s Anderson Cooper last week reported on a story we published back in January. The short video highlights a stove project run by international relief agency Mercy Corps in one of its refugee camps in North Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Watch the video Continue reading
A stove for Darfur
At the height of the Darfur emergency in 2004, women had to sometimes walk as long as seven hours to find firewood outside the refugee camps. The women were frequently the victims of rape during these treks.
Faced with these threats, the US government turned to Berkeley Lab scientist Ashok Gadgil to help find a solution to the problem. The Berkeley-Darfur Stove is the response devised by Ashok, his colleagues, and the women of Darfur. Continue reading