Approximately 2.2 million internally displaced persons (“IDPs”) in Darfur are living in dense camps scattered in arid areas with low fuelwood productivity. Unsustainable harvesting of fuelwood by the IDPs has created ever increasing zones of denudation, that now (in November 2005) have reached several kilometers from the camp boundaries. Leaving the safety of the camps to fetch fuelwood from farther and farther away imposes great risk and hardship on the IDP women.
Three different metal fuel efficient stove (“FES”) designs were tested in Darfur IDP camps for their suitability to substantially reduce the fuelwood needs of IDPs. The mud-and-dung “ITDG” stoves being promoted under the current FES program were also examined and tested. A modified design of the ITDG mud-and-dung stove, “Avi,” was developed, built and tested. Systematic informal surveys of IDP households were undertaken in North and South Darfur to understand the household parameters related to family size, food, fuel, cooking habits, cooking pots, expenditure on fuel, and preferences related to alternative ways to spend time/money if fuel could be saved.
Galitsky, C., Gadgil, A. J., Jacobs, M., Lee, Y-M. (2006). LBNL report: LBNL-59540.
The article can be accessed here: LBNL 59540_Feb-24-2006