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The Live Well programme is a partnership between DelAgua and the Government of The Gambia to provide an integrated improved cookstove, education and support programme, free of charge, to the rural population of The Gambia. This will deliver a plethora of benefits including health, wellbeing, gender equality, climate, the environment, nature, education and economic.
The project initially distributed over 77,000 high-efficiency cookstoves, achieving full household coverage in the Lower River Region (LRR), Central River Region (CRR), and selected districts in the Upper River Region (URR).
With additional investment mobilised, DelAgua has now expanded distributions by a further 75,000 stoves, bringing total deployment to approximately 152,000 units nationwide, impacting the lives of over 1 million people and positioning the project as the largest clean cooking intervention in The Gambia to date.
The Gambia is a Least Developed Country and one of the world’s poorest countries. Over 60% of the population is dependent on agriculture and over 70% of rural inhabitants live below the poverty line (UNFCCC/CRFS).
Over 95% of the rural population still cook on wood fuelled traditional 3 stone fires, usually indoors. This has devastating consequences for the environment, nature and for the health of women and children in particular, who cook and tend the fire and so suffer the most from household air pollution (HAP). Whilst there is primary education provision, in rural areas there is poor attendance, especially among girls, because of their wood gathering and cooking duties. Over half the adult population cannot read or write.
The impact of wood fuel harvesting on the environment is significant: deforestation and the destruction of mangroves is extensive, leading to increased CO2 emissions, flooding, high winds and loss of crucial wildlife habitats.
The Government of The Gambia is focussed on meeting its Paris Agreement commitments with an ambitious plan to reach Net Zero by 2050, and on improving the health and well-being of its population. The Government has also taken a proactive approach to addressing gender inequality and improving access to primary education for all. The Live Well programme supports these Government goals by enabling access to modern energy efficient cooking for the rural poor previously excluded because of lack of affordability. The average GDP/capita in The Gambia is just under $2/day (UNDESA 2021) and in rural areas significantly less: $1 to $1.50. Once living essentials are paid, a stove is completely unaffordable, even with a subsidy.
Stove quality is paramount. The stove we provide is the world’s most fuel-efficient, advanced rocket stove. A poor quality, mud constructed stove would be cheaper, but will not provide the step change in performance and reliability that delivers the benefits that families need to ensure behaviour change and transform health and wellbeing.
The stove cuts wood fuel use by 71% and burns with a very high thermal efficiency. It is designed to be used outdoors, cutting HAP. The stove is manufactured for us by BURN in Kenya, benefiting the regional African economy. DelAgua believes it is essential to provide a high-quality stove that has the best performance, is durable, and easy to use so that families and the environment gain the maximum benefit.
At present it is not possible to produce a stove of this type locally as it requires significant manufacturing technology and expertise. BURN are global leaders in the design and production of rocket stoves.
To discover more about the stove and the many benefits it delivers across 11 Sustainable Benefit Goals (SDGs) including examples from our highly successful 14-year programme in Rwanda, click here.
The Live Well programme delivers many benefits for families, communities and the environment.
By reducing exposure to household air pollution, the programme delivers significant health benefits while contributing to climate action through reduced carbon emissions. Families experience economic gains by spending less on fuel and save time previously spent collecting firewood. These time savings can be redirected towards education, income-generating activities and other opportunities that improve quality of life.
The programme also advances gender equality by reducing the disproportionate burden of cooking and fuel collection often borne by women and girls. The project is delivered by local community-based workers (CBWs), and they lie behind the success of the programme. It supports the development of work and skills that can strengthen livelihoods and community resilience.
As a nature-based solution, the programme helps reduce pressure on local forests, supporting life on land by conserving biodiversity and protecting wildlife habitats.
DelAgua’s The Gambia project VCS4000 contributes to multiple Sustainable Development Goals:
The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy is the main project partner and with whom DelAgua has a Memorandum of Understanding.
The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare provides advocacy for the programme together with insights to ensure the gender benefits delivered by the stoves are maximised for the women of The Gambia
The Ministry of Local Government, Lands and Religious Affairs provides access to the Village Development Committee (VDC).
The VDC is a trusted local network within the rural communities who DelAgua trains and pays to distribute the stoves and carry out education, household visits and ongoing support. This is essential for achieving long term behaviour change. To date, the project has provided full-time employment to 29 Gambian nationals and recruited, trained and paid over 1,300 VDCs since project inception.
Offset and buy Live Well carbon credits direct from us. Your purchase will fund Live Well to provide more stoves to more families and continue to tackle the global crisis of dirty cooking.
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