VCS1719 Cookstoves Malawi & Mozambique

VCS1719 | Cookstoves, Malawi & Mozambique is a people-focused Verified Carbon Standard project improving living conditions in the home.

Project Description: VCS1719 | Cookstoves, Malawi & Mozambique

Malawi is amongst the world’s poorest countries, ranking 171 out of 187 countries on the Human Development Index.

Over 70% of the population live below the income poverty line of US$1.25 a day.

Approximately 90% of households use fuelwood with about 7% using charcoal, especially in rural areas.

The project distributes 20,000+ domestic fuel-efficient cookstoves to replace inefficient three-stone fires or traditional pot supports.

It promotes and installs improved cookstoves (the TLC Rocket Stove) for use by residential households in rural areas.

These cookstoves substantially reduce fuel consumption and emissions by improving combustion efficiency and heat transfer to the pot.

The project delivers a long-term, secure and simple contribution to sustainable development in Malawi.

Without carbon finance, the project and its benefits would not exist.

Each user is informed that carbon finance from the sale of carbon credits is used to lower the cookstove’s price.

Sustainability Beyond Carbon

There is more to offsets than just carbon.

Each VCS carbon credit is a tonne of verified climate benefit, no matter the type of project.

This carbon offset project provides multiple sustainability co-benefits beyond just carbon and helps link your climate response to improved sustainability.

The project helps reduce the use of non-renewable biomass from Malawi’s forests.

This assists the conservation of existing forest stock which helps protect natural forest ecosystems and wildlife habitats.

Reducing forest degradation protects watersheds that regulate the water table and helps prevent flash flooding.

The use of firewood in more efficient cookstoves means families spend less time collecting the fuel.

This reduces the work burden and time demands on rural families, especially women and children.

The extra time enables women to undertake more productive economic activities and children to attend school.

Each family spends less on cooking fuel which improves the household budget.

The project reduces indoor air pollution caused by smokey traditional cooking options which benefits women and children in particular.

Indoor smoke causes 40% of childhood pneumonia cases and chronic lung disease in women.

The cookstove is a safer method for burning biomass for cooking which helps reduce burn injuries, especially for children.

The project helps develop a section of Malawi’s rural economy through local cookstove assembly, distribution, maintenance and monitoring.

The project helps create direct local employment in operational and management roles as well as the units’ assembly and manufacturing.

Want to know more about VCS1719 | Cookstoves, Malawi & Mozambique?

The project’s design and monitoring, validation and verification reports are publicly available here: https://registry.verra.org/app/projectDetail/VCS/1719