Kathleen J. Zephirin
Senior Director, Haiti
Haiti Cookstoves and Clean Energy Market Project
In Haiti, households rely almost exclusively on wood and charcoal to meet their cooking energy needs.
This reliance comes with severe impacts on health, the climate, and the environment. CCA’s Haiti Cookstoves and Clean Energy Market Project, funded by Global Affairs Canada, will set the foundation for a long-term, sustainable market transformation for cleaner and more efficient cooking solutions.
The Issue
In 2017, almost 7,000 deaths in Haiti were attributed to household air pollution from solid fuel use, making it the country’s fifth largest risk factor for mortality (IHME, 2019).
“Through my experiences in Haiti, I’ve seen first-hand how clean cookstoves can make an impact in people’s lives. It’s what led me to also get involved in the Clean Cooking Alliance.”Chef José AndrésCCA Champion
CCA's Work in Haiti
The Haiti Cookstoves and Clean Energy Market Project comprises a combination of sector-wide, market development activities to increase the sales of cleaner and more efficient cookstoves and fuels by Haitian businesses.
It will also drive consumer demand for clean cooking solutions and advance policy and advocacy to enable the continued growth of the clean cookstoves and fuels market. This Project will reduce biomass use by an estimated 1.2 million metric tons (including reducing charcoal use by 251,000 metric tons), and avoid greenhouse gas emissions equal to 160,000 metric tons of CO2e. Based on the estimated increase in the adoption of cleaner cooking options, 12,400 disability-adjusted life years would be averted by the project’s end.
The Project is funded by CAN $20 million from the Government of Canada and is expected to run from 2018-2022 (with possible extension). CCA works in close collaboration with Haiti’s Ministry of Environment and other governmental entities. Other stakeholders include clean cooking enterprises, civil society organizations, UN agencies, and Global Affairs Canada. CCA’s team in Port-au-Prince leads project implementation, stakeholder engagement, and monitoring and evaluation, while staff in Washington, D.C., support capacity building, market development, technical expertise, and monitoring and evaluation.
The Haiti Project’s Guiding Principles
CCA’s diverse portfolio of activities in Haiti is grounded in these six fundamentals:
- Inclusive, market-based interventions can effectively promote the adoption of clean cooking solutions.
- While wood and charcoal will remain a staple fuel for the foreseeable future, consumers must be able to choose from a variety of cleaner and more efficient options.
- As clean energy entrepreneurs and leaders, women are critical to achieving effective, culturally appropriate, and sustainable solutions.
- A long-term effort by all actors, including the government of Haiti, is needed to address access to clean cooking.
- Building on past projects and the expertise of Haitians leads to more effective outcomes.
- Building on the ongoing work and expertise of local partners prevents duplication and enhances project effectiveness.
More from CCA Experts
Read CCA’s Haiti Consumer Preferences Study