Clean Cooking and Solar Light

1Why cooking energy matters

Most Rwandan families cook with firewood or charcoal. Using too much of them causes problems:

• Too many trees are cut, which leads to deforestation, soil erosion and even landslides.
• Smoke in the kitchen harms the lungs and eyes, especially of mothers and young children.
• Collecting wood takes hours, and charcoal costs money.

2Improved cookstoves

An improved cookstove is designed to burn fuel more completely and to keep the heat around the pot instead of letting it escape. It often has a clay lining or a closed fire chamber, and some have a chimney. Compared with a three-stone fire, it:

• uses much less wood or charcoal,
• makes less smoke,
• cooks faster, and
• is safer for children, because the fire is enclosed.

3More ways to cook with less fuel

• Use dry wood; wet wood burns badly and makes more smoke.
• Put a lid on the pot, so heat stays in and food cooks faster.
• Soak beans overnight, and cut food into small pieces, so they cook sooner.
• Put out the fire as soon as you finish cooking.
• Use a hot box (fireless cooker). Bring beans or rice to the boil, then put the covered pot into a basket or box packed with old blankets, cloth or dry grass. These materials are good insulators: they trap the heat, so the food keeps cooking for hours with no fire.
• Where possible, choose cleaner fuels such as biogas or cooking gas.
• Plant trees, for example at umuganda, so that wood stays renewable.

4Solar lamps and solar home systems

A small solar panel on the roof charges a battery during the day. At night, the battery powers LED lamps, a radio or a phone charger. Many homes far from power lines use these systems.

Compared with a kerosene lamp or a candle, a solar lamp:

• makes no smoke, so it does not harm the lungs;
• cannot knock over and start a fire;
• uses free sunlight, so it costs almost nothing to run after it is bought;
• gives brighter light for reading and homework.

To look after a solar system, put the panel where it gets full sun all day (not in the shade of a tree), wipe off dust, and keep children from playing with the battery and wires.

5The sun can heat water too

A solar water heater uses dark tubes or panels that soak up the sun's heat and warm water flowing through them. The hot water is stored in an insulated tank, so it stays hot and saves electricity or firewood.

Try it yourself

Try each one on your own first, then tap Show answer to check.