VCS2400 Safe Water/Cookstoves Rwanda

VCS2400 Safe Water/Cookstoves Rwanda is a people-focused Verified Carbon Standard project improving living conditions in the home.

Project Description: VCS2400 Safe Water/Cookstoves Rwanda

The project distributed zero-energy LifeStraw® Family water filter units and/or Dura high-efficiency cookstoves.

These were distributed directly to 295,794 households across 16 districts in 3 provinces of Rwanda.

In 2014, 100,567 households across 7 districts received both the water filters and cookstoves.

In 2016 another 195,227 households across all 16 districts received cookstoves only, with each household averaging 4 people.

Households with existing running water in their homes only receive a cookstove but not a water filter.

The LifeStraw® Family is a point-of-use water filter that helps people access safe drinking water.

It is an instant microbiological purifier that delivers at least 18,000 litres of USEPA-quality drinking water.

These water filters reduce the use and demand for firewood by not needing to boil water.

The Dura is a high-efficiency, family-sized cook stove based on the ‘rocket stove’ concept of operation.

They are considerably more efficient than the traditional three-stone fire and reduce the fuel needed for cooking.

They can completely burn the fuel with little to no smoke which greatly improves indoor air quality.

The carbon credits claimed are those created by the use of the cookstoves while those from water filter use are not.

The average emission reductions are estimated to be over 1 million tCO2e each year.

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.

Trained Community Health Workers provided training to households in the use of the technologies prior to its distribution.

Follow-up in-home training was then provided to ensure proper use and maintenance.

Cookstoves and safe water projects reduce the use of unsustainably harvested fuelwood.

They reduce the considerable time, effort and risk of injury or violence while collecting fuel.

This provides increased time for other tasks, education, employment and economic activity.

Reduced fuel use decreases the degradation of local forests and the associated impacts on biodiversity.

Both technologies improve indoor air quality by not using smokey fires to cook and treat water by boiling it.

They both help improve health and safety, especially for women and children.

Want to know more about VCS2400 Safe Water/Cookstoves Rwanda?

The project’s design and monitoring, validation and verification reports are publicly available here: https://registry.verra.org/app/projectDetail/VCS/2400