Cooking Clean: How Eco-Stoves Are Transforming Rwanda’s Homes and Forests

What are Eco-Stoves

An “eco-stove” (also “improved cookstove,” “efficient cookstove”) refers to a cooking appliance that uses fuel more efficiently, emits less smoke, and reduces harmful environmental and health impacts compared to traditional cooking methods (like open fires or simple three-stone stoves). Such stoves may be designed to retain more heat, burn fuel more cleanly, or use alternative fuels (pellets, briquettes, etc.).

In Rwanda, eco-stoves typically include:

• Mud or clay lined stoves with improved combustion and insulation. 
• Metal stoves burned with biomass pellets or briquettes made from waste or residue. 
• Locally designed “tiered” stoves (tiers according to international standards) that aim for higher efficiency and low emissions.

Why Eco-Stoves Matter in Rwanda

Eco-stoves bring benefits in several overlapping domains:

1. Environmental Conservation & Climate Change Mitigation
   • Reduction in deforestation: Since many households rely on firewood or charcoal, more efficient stoves mean less wood is needed. 
   • Lower greenhouse gas emissions (less CO₂, less particulate matter). Projects like the myclimate one around Volcanoes National Park show measurable CO₂ savings. 
2. Health Benefits
   • Traditional cooking (open fires, smoky stoves) emits a lot of indoor smoke, which causes respiratory problems, eye irritation, etc. Eco-stoves, by reducing smoke, improve indoor air quality. 
   • Women and children are especially impacted, because they spend more time near cooking hearths. 
3. Economic & Time Savings
   • Reduced fuel costs: With improved efficiency, households spend less on firewood, charcoal or other biomass fuel.
   • Less time spent collecting wood/fuel, which is often a strenuous burden, especially in rural areas. More time available for other productive or leisure activities.
4. Gender & Social Impacts
   • Because women are often responsible for cooking and collecting fuel, they tend to benefit strongly in terms of reduced time burden and health risks. 
   • Local production, distribution, and maintenance of eco-stove technologies can generate jobs, especially for women and youth. 
5. Contribution to National Goals
   • Rwanda has set targets for reducing biomass reliance for cooking. Programs like CC-RBF (Clean Cooking Results-Based Financing) support these goals. 
   • Schools and institutions are being targeted for clean cooking to reduce large-scale fuel use and associated costs.