Fuel Efficient Stoves for Darfur

Ashok Gadgil watches a Sudanese woman prepare a meal using one of the stove designs that burns fuel more efficiently than a three-stone fire. Cooking on a three-stone fire is visible in the background -- and is part of the side-by-side comparison of stoves in the field. November 2005.

High-performance, fuel-efficient metal stoves manufactured by local metal-workers in Khartoum are awaiting shipment and distribution to Darfur IDP camps. October 2006.

The Berkeley Darfur Stove design remains stable with vigorous stirring. It maintains fuel efficiency even under breezy conditions. It also substantially reduces the risk of the straw shelters accidently catching fire. All this, and it uses only a fourth of the fuelwood needed to cook compared to the common three-stone fire.

Women and girls travel great distances to collect fuelwood for cooking, each trip lasting 6 to 8 hours. Leaving the IDP camps puts the women and girls at great risk for rape, assault, and mutilation. Fuel-efficient stoves cook with much less fuelwood, reducing the need to leave the camps