Tag: biomass

The Zanmi Pye Bwa Haitian Clean Cookstove Project

The Zanmi Pye Bwa Cookstove Project in Haiti is a joint effort between Trees, Water & People (TWP) and International Lifeline Fund (ILF), two American-based nonprofit organizations. TWP has worked with ILF on developing a local charcoal stove design, intended for micro-entrepreneurial manufacture and dissemination during 2011. This stove, the Zanmi Pye Bwa (“Friend of the Trees”), has posted fuel-use reductions on par with many of the imported stoves in Port-au-Prince (40% reduction in charcoal use), but can be produced at a lower cost with local skills and materials.

Are you interested in contributing to this project? Click here to make a donation to the Zanmi Pye Bwa Clean Cookstove fundraiser.

Photo of the Week: Envisioning the Nicaraguan Forestry Research Center

Staff from PROLEÑA, our partner organization in Nicaragua, walk the site of the future National Forestry Biomass Research Center in La Paz Centro.

The National Forestry Biomass Research Center will focus on implementing general procedures and practices for integral forest management. In particular, we will develop techniques that increase productivity in forest and agricultural plantations to permanently guarantee quality of local plant production. Technology and skills transfer will be utilized in the development of modern tubette nurseries, as well as for biomass fuel related topics, such as charcoal briquette manufacture and gasification of agricultural residues as fuel for local industries such as bakeries, lime producers, and ceramicists.

Interesting Reading: Biomass Cookstove Technical Report

As part of his work with the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (GACC), Sebastian Africano, TWP’s Deputy International Director, helped contribute to this report.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) offices of Policy and International Affairs (PI) and Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) held a meeting on January 11–12, 2011, to gather input on a proposed DOE research and development (R&D) program to address the technical barriers to cleaner and more fuel-efficient biomass cookstoves. The nearly 80 participants at the meeting evaluated DOE’s proposed goals, identified the major research challenges, and defined pathways toward technology solutions.