Fuelling Growth

NOVEMBER 2013

The Fuel-Efficient Stoves Project in Tanzania “I thought we [Tanzanians] could not eat with white people.” This was a comment to us made by Ezekiel Mdindile, a member of the “Ebenezer Jiko” stoves group, the pilot Fuel-Efficient Stoves Project in Magozi which started in July 2011. Much has changed since then. Ezekiel is now married to a lovely girl, Bora (which means “better”) and they have a beautiful little girl called Lightness. He became the secretary of the Magozi group and more recently has taken on a training role with Emmanuel International, teaching new stove groups. As a result, Ezekiel has not only been eating with us, but also living with us. He now knows that it is not only possible for us to eat and live together, but also mutually beneficial and a lot of fun! It has been fantastic to see the growth of the FuelEfficient Stove Project over the past year. A lot of work has gone into pursuing a new grant for innovative projects under the Global Poverty Action Fund from DFID (UK Government’s Department for International Development) which would fund the project in six villages over the next three years. We were amazed to get the news at the end of the summer that we had secured it! And so from the pilot project in Magozi, we have now, through this DFID funding, embarked on the first stage of expansion by starting stoves projects in the villages of Kimande/Itunundu and also Ikuka. But the growth is not just in terms of the project itself but also in the lives of individuals. It has been a joy to see

Kimande Stoves Group

Mama Christina (Kimande) with the first stoves fired not only Ezekiel but also Mendriad Pembelu, another member of the first Magozi group, flourish in training roles. They are now far better stove makers than we are! They trained a group of 25 people in Kimande and Itunundu how to make the clay stoves in July of this year. They trained them well and were then able to take one of the best stove-makers from this group, Mama Anna, to help train another group of 25 in Ikuka in October. We were able to hire Hosea Mlimbwa, also a member of the Magozi group, to build the kilns in both villages. Subsequently, he was able to train members of the Kimande/Itunundu and Ikuku groups. It has been so encouraging watching people grow as they learn new skills, increase their income and build their confidence and then in turn grow the project! The group in Kimande/Itunundu has made over 180 stoves and since starting in July, the group has fired stoves in the kiln twice and stoves are slowly starting to sell in the villages. Women in Kimande walk for six long, hot hours to collect enough firewood to fuel their three-stone fire for three or four days. The fuel-efficient clay stoves will reduce the firewood burned by 50%. The health benefits of the stove for the village are also significant. There is a clinic hospital in the village and talking to Dr Mbaga, the head doctor, and looking at the records, we saw that acute respiratory illness is in the top three diagnoses given, along with malaria and diarrhoeal diseases. As part of our village

awareness, we have designed a poster for the hospital outlining the health benefits of the “smoke-less cooker” and hope that the message spreads! We have also done some teaching on water purification and the importance of clean drinking water in an attempt to address the huge problems of dysentery resulting from drinking dirty water. Conversations with the head doctor as well as perusals of the hospital records proved our observations that nutritional health in the village is poor. So as part of our “cooking for health” work in the Stoves Group, we have done more teaching on nutrition and healthy eating. And with the stoves group, we hosted a village-wide seminar in October on the topic. We also taught on efficient cooking using the fuel-efficient stove, how to reduce the amount of firewood used. And seeing the need to replenish the vast amounts of firewood being used up, we were able to host an informative and practical seminar on Mycorrhiza for Tree-Planting. Gideon Massaka of Sunseed Tanzania Trust came with us to teach on using mycorrhiza (mycor - fungus, rhiza - root), a locally found fungus which by attaching itself to the roots, is used to improve tree and crop survival and growth. It was a brilliant opportunity to share skills and knowledge, as he was able to learn how to make the portable clay stoves and take the technology and ideas back to Dodoma! The growth of the project has resulted in growth in our small EI Tanzania team. In September of this year, also with funds supplied from the DFID grant, we were able to employ Jesca Mgimba, a Tanzanian graduate in Community Development from Tumaini University, Iringa. She is now employed through our partner church, the Diocese of Ruaha, to take on the role of Stoves Project Manager. She will be taking over from us as we move to take the work of Emmanuel International to Mwanza in January. Although on a steep learning curve, she has done a fantastic job starting the Ikuka Stoves Group pretty much on her own! The group in Ikuka has

Pastor Mpalanzi (Ikuka), Jesca, Joseph (Ikuka Village Chairman), Tim and Amisadai

Mendriad and Ezekiel fired their first 82 stoves which they are now selling to villagers. It has not all been without its challenges and difficulties, but we can say that our God is faithful! And as we have seen in the unique and lush garden of Mama Christina in Kimande, God loves growth! As we have worked through this next stage of the stoves project, living in the village, we have seen God at work as the Master Gardener, tending and growing his “garden”. Seeds are planted and they grow and in time they bear fruit. We are excited to be sowing seeds as we live and work in these villages; we are excited about the growth we see and in faith, we look forward to more fruit! And to finish, a few weeks ago, when Ezekiel was coming back from the village to stay with us in Iringa, a friend asked him where he was staying in town. He answered, “with my family.” Black and white we may be, but one family eating together. by Tim and Rachel Monger

Mama Elisabeti carrying firewood

Dates for your diary EIUK Annual Conference 2014: 1 March 2014 at Trinity Church EIUK Annual General Meeting 2014: 1 March 2014 at Trinity Church

The EIUK office will be closed from 23 December 2013 and will be open again on 6 January 2014.