Organization
International Lifeline Fund
Mission
ILF's vision is simple: a world in which no one is forced to expose themselves, their family, and their environment to the harms associated with cooking on an open fire. With this vision at the core of all ILF does, the organization's mission is to bring fuel-efficient stoves to displaced and impoverished communities in sub-Saharan Africa and Haiti. In an effort to address both the environmental and humanitarian problems associated with open fire cooking, ILF has distributed over 50,000 household fuel-efficient stoves to women who have been displaced by violence and natural disaster in Somalia, Darfur, Burundi, Kenya, Haiti and Northern Uganda since 2006.
When ILF first began promoting clean cooking in 2006 it distributed insulated clay stoves made entirely from locally available organic materials. At a cost of as little as $2 or $3 each, these stoves can reduce the amount of wood needed for cooking by up to 50% and can reduce smoke emissions by even greater amounts. Since 2006, ILF has expanded its stove-making capacity through the development of affordable, portable, and metallic charcoal-burning stoves. In Uganda, ILF's stove has been dubbed the “Okelo Kuc†or “peace-making stove†because it brings peace to the household. These stoves are sold by local vendors and are thus helping to foster a vibrant commercial market for the production and sale of fuel-efficient stoves. In Haiti, ILF's stove is called the “Zanmi Pye Bwa†–creole for “friend of the treesâ€.
In addition to its household stove program, Lifeline has been distributing larger institutional stoves for use in schools, hospitals and other public establishments in Uganda and Haiti. In Haiti, Lifeline has been distributing a stove that is fueled by paper-waste briquettes, completely eliminating the need for costly charcoal. Lifeline has outfitted 27 schools with 100 of these stoves. In one of these schools alone, the savings have amounted to $400 in charcoal and 11,000 pounds of firewood per month.
Organizational Expertise
Adoption / Behavior Change, Carbon Finance, Capacity Building, Climate/Environment, Livelihoods
Technologies & Fuels
Biomass (Ag. Residue, Processed Biomass, etc.), Coal, Pellets / Briquettes
Other Technologies Fuels
Paper Waste Briquettes
Clean Cooking Activities
ILF currently has initiatives underway in three countries, Kenya, Uganda, and Haiti. In Kenya ILF works with the refugee population of Dadaab refugee center to produce and distribute clay and metal rocket stoves in Ifo and Hagadera camps. Currently the production center has the capacity to produce approximately 415 stoves each month, 5,000 annually.
The program is Uganda is ILF's most diverse fuel-efficient stove program. Based in Lira, a city in Northern Uganda, the Uganda program works with both urban and rural communities to distribute and sell household and institutional stoves. The Uganda program began as a purely humanitarian initiative, distributing rocket stoves in IDP camps. Though ILF still distributes some clay rocket stoves in rural areas, ILF has since developed the metallic Okelo Kuc stove which it sells to female vendors in Lira town, who in turn sell them to community members for profit. ILF believes that this commercialization process is the best way to ensure the long-term sustainability of its fuel-efficient stove program.
ILF also has a small institutional stove program, distributing larger fuel-efficient stoves to such institutions as schools, orphanages, and hospitals. Currently the production center in Lira has the capacity to produce approximately 1,000 household stoves each month, 12,000 annually. ILF is also currently in the process of opening a fuel-efficient stove factory in Kampala, the capital city, as well as getting carbon credit certification.
The fuel-efficient stove program in Haiti is the youngest of ILF's initiatives. Following the earthquake in January 2010, ILF began implementing household and institutional stove programs primarily in Port-au-Prince staring in February 2010. In the short time that ILF has implemented a fuel-efficient stove program in Haiti substantial progress has been made. Since June of 2010 ILF has distributed more than 10,000 household stoves to families living in urban resettlement camps in and around Port-au-Prince. ILF has also conducted extensive R&D over the past six months and successfully designed and produced an all-metal household stove, made from Haitian metal by Haitian tinsmiths. These new metal stoves, the ZPB as previously mentioned, have the capacity to save Haitian families approximately $1.70 per day on costly charcoal.
ILF also implements an institutional stove program in conjunction with WFP's School Meals Programme. As previously mentioned, ILF has distributed 100 of these stoves to 27 schools and will distribute another 400 of these stoves in the coming eighteen months. As these stoves rely heavily on paper waste briquettes ILF is also in the process of becoming more actively involved in the production of the briquettes, an endeavor that will result in greater charcoal savings and job creation throughout Port-au-Prince.
Partnership
As an organization that works at all levels of fuel-efficient stove program implementation, ILF is happy to support other organizations involved in the Global Alliance by sharing its experience and expertise at all levels of program implementation, in addition to formally partnering with other implementers in the field. ILF is happy to share its knowledge in the following fields, ranging from and including research and development, in-country production and manufacturing, testing, training of stove users, distribution and commercialization of stoves, and monitoring and evaluation.
Regions Operating In
Latin America and Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa
Country Based In
United States
Address
2101 L St. NW Ste. 1000
Washington, DC 20037
Website
Primary Point of Contact
Name: Mr. Vahid Jahangiri
Title: Deputy Director
Email: vj@lifelinefund.org
Phone: 202-530-8550
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