A comparative study of selected cookstoves in Sierra Leone: Consideration of improved cookstoves' use for fuel efficiency, reduced carbon emission and respiratory exposure, and income generation

About 75% of Sierra Leone's population derives its livelihood from farming which involves massive cutting of forest and burning of biomass with little or no tree planting thereafter. The deforestation and related climate change is worsened by the widespread use of solid fuel - wood and charcoal - as the main source of cooking fuel. Traditional cookstoves are used in most of the country with adverse repercussions for both environmental and personal health. Poor combustion characteristics of traditional stoves yield greater products of incomplete combustion (PICs) which have greater impact on environment and respiratory health than carbon dioxide. Women and children, especially girls, are generally tasked with collecting firewood for cooking and charcoal production thereby increasing their exposure to respiratory irritants as well as removing them from other productive activities, such as school or income-generating work. Because traditional stoves are generally located outside at ground level, young children are frequent burn victims -- a leading source of under-5s hospitalizations. Although at least two improved cookstoves are currently fabricated and sold locally, little data has been available on their emissions, fuel efficiency, and potential for carbon offset trading. Discussion will include research outcomes comparing 2 improved and 2 traditional stove designs using the 2003 University of California at Berkeley's revised Water Boiling Test (WBT) Version 3.0. Fabrication and use of improved cookstoves at Birth Waiting Homes to improve environmental health while providing women-based income-generating activities will be shared as they aim to achieve multiple MDGs (3,4,5, and 7) in Sierra Leone.