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Save Africa's Forests

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As part of E-Trip Africa's  focus on Sustainable Tourism, we are always on the lookout for ways to improve the lives of those in the areas where we travel.  Additionally, we have seen that the forests in East Africa are being destroyed at a faster rate than ever.

In 2013, we came across Peter Scott and his project to develop an extrememly effecient cooking stove in Kenya, the JikoKoa.  As the stoves became available we began purchasing them and distributing them around East Africa as a informal Carbon Offset project for our coorporate use. 

Now the stoves are widely available in Kenya and are even financed through loans from partner banks.  However, neighboring Tanzania has been largely untouched by this new technology.  Lower hosehold incomes, high transport costs, and lack of access to credit are barriers that have hendered the market for this new technology.

Our goal is to establish  a not-for-profit distribution chain for these stoves in Tanzania.  The stoves will be transported, demoed, and sold to people living in rural communities.  

As you can imagine with many rural household incomes of less than $60 a month, these stoves are not accessible to the millions of the families that could use them the most.  However, a JikoKoa in use can easily save a family between $5 and $20 per month in charcoal consumption costs, which if applied towards the cost of the stove could opens the door to many. 

Our model is quite simple.  We will show people hands-on how they can save money by using a JikoKoa.  We will then sell them a JikoKoa for $5, plus a calculation of montly (or maybe even weekly) payments that represent the amount the family will save by using less charcoal.  The term of the "credit" will depend on the payment amounts the family can make.  And thanks to your contributions the credit will be at 0% interest.

So it comes out like this.  The wholesale cost of a stove for us after transport and importation duties is $45 (varies slightly depending on exchange rates and quantities in the shipment).  We then sell a stove to a family for $5.  The family estimates that they will save say $2 a week on charcoal.  So they agree to pay $8 per month during 5 months to finish buying their stove.

You can contribute as much or as little as you can spare to this campaing, with ever $45 dollars raised we will purchase one stove to be distributed.  But don't forget this is a revolving fund.  So that means that as the family repays their "loan" the funds will be used again and again to purchase more stoves to be distrubited.  Our goal is to be flexible on payment terms, but to average 6 months, meaning your $45 dollar contribution will facilitate the distribution of 2 stoves per year and will continue year after year getting more stoves out there.

We decided today was the right time to launch this campaign after we saw that the stunt by Cards Against Humanity raised $71,145 on Black Friday, for no named cause, we wanted to challenge Humintiy to show their support for a cuase that will save the environment while helping lift people out of poverty.  

If we can raise the same amount it represents the distribution of 1,581 stoves, twice over a year, meaning that 3,162 families could be saving a significant amount of money on cooking fuel consumption in Tanzania.  Environmentally this translates reducing charcoal consumption by  2,671,250 Lbs per year.  Which means we are saving some 750 acres of forest or about 570 football fields of trees, each year. 

Learn more about the essential role charcoal plays as a cooking fuel in Tanzania  

What better way to make a difference in our world?

Organizer

Aurélie Sivadier
Organizer
Newark, DE

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