Organization
Women's Refugee Commission
Mission
Since 1989, the Women's Refugee Commission has advocated vigorously for laws, policies and programs to improve the lives and protect the rights of refugee and displaced women, children and young people, including those seeking asylum—bringing about lasting, measurable change.
Organizational Expertise
Humanitarian/Emergency Response, Research, Adoption / Behavior Change, Gender / Womens Empowerment, Health
Technologies & Fuels
Not Applicable
Clean Cooking Activities
The purpose of WRC's pilot project in eastern DRC is to stem the threats to both women and the environment that are caused by over-reliance on unsustainable cooking fuels such as firewood and charcoal. Moreover, it will demonstrate—for regional and global adaption—how a coordinated and multisectoral “SAFE strategy†will improve physical protection of women and girls and reduce reliance on the unsustainable cooking fuels that cause environmental degradation. The project will ensure that crisis-affected populations in the Great Lakes region of Africa have safe access to appropriate, sustainable cooking fuel and alternative energy technologies. It will be sustainable over the long term and replicable throughout the region and, ideally, globally.
In order to achieve this goal the project has the following objectives:
Research assessments of current needs and challenges related to cooking fuel, environmental protection and sustainable fuels are conducted in 7 countries in the Great Lakes region to establish a baseline for scale-up of future programming;
A SAFE human resources infrastructure, trained by WRC and staffed locally, is created in the Kivus & Ituri regions of eastern DRC and refugee sites in southwestern Uganda;
A locally appropriate, cross-cutting SAFE strategy is developed and implemented;
The positive impact of SAFE implementation on protection of women & girls and reduced reliance on unsustainable cooking fuels is demonstrated for regional/global adaption; and
Local and regional implementation capacity and global institutional support for long-term sustainability and replication are built. The specific types of FES, fuels and other activities will be determined in the assessment phase.
However, in keeping with the global SAFE methodology, activities will be centered around the following goals:
Decrease the amount of biomass-based fuel that is needed/consumed via the use of FES, development of alternatives to firewood and charcoal and training of beneficiaries on fuel-efficient cooking techniques;
Increase the supply of cooking fuel that can be safely accessed, including via the creation and management of woodlots and reforestation schemes;
Diversify income sources for those households that are dependent on woodfuel-intensive activities such as firewood collection and sale and charcoal manufacture for their livelihoods; and
Reduce negative health consequences associated with IAP and skipping/under-cooking meals.
Partnership
WRC can contribute technical and research expertise on the domestic energy needs and challenges of crisis-affected populations and humanitarian contexts generally. We are also engaged in global advocacy amongst humanitarian partners and donors for more focus on this life-saving issue.
Country Based In
United States
Address
122 East 42nd St.
New York, NY 10168-1289
Website
https://www.womensrefugeecommission.org
Primary Point of Contact
Name: Ms. Erin Patrick
Title: Senior Program Officer, Fuel and Firewood Initiative
Email: ErinP@wrcommission.org
Phone: 212.551.3115
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