Village Improvement Project, Inc. (VIP) seeks to replace three-stone open fire cooking method with improved cook stoves for rural village communities in Liberia. Village Improvement Project, Inc. project aims to design and produce cleaner burning stoves to reduce household air pollution for 98% of the population in Liberia, West Africa who use solid fuels for cooking.
Lack of energy access afflicts approximately 98% of Liberians. The problem affects individuals, households, communities, local institutions and small and medium-sized businesses. This problem presents an opportunity to create a market-based solution for nearly 4 million potential consumers. Cleaner and more efficient cook stoves and fuels are cost-efficient options for the families using them, and they can use the money saved for other important purposes, such as school fees or medicine.
VIP, through a social enterprise model, is seeking to respond to how best to serve the needs of this market. VIP seeks to establish, grow and scale a successful cook stove enterprise using affordable rocket stove technology that will provide cleaner and healthier means of cooking.
Utilizing a market-based approach, while aiding a vulnerable population in Liberia, this project aims to hire 15 to 20 Liberians in years 1 to 2 to produce, distribute and sell stoves, reduce annual bio fuel use by 40% per household, increase savings of household income by 5-6%, and save about 100 hours annually per household collecting firewood.
This project has provided additional documentation in a XLSX file (projdoc.xlsx).
