In early 2021, Rotary Club of Charlottetown provided funds to Farmers Helping Farmers to provide fuel-efficient, vented cookstoves to thirty members of a partner group of FHF.
Kamuketha Top women’s group was selected to receive these stoves, and 30 stoves were delivered, installed and are in operation for the women.
Claire, one of FHF contract staff, reported that:
“The benefits of the cooking stoves in these communities cannot be overlooked. Most of the members cannot afford to buy firewood. There are vast spaces of land that are not arable and filled with shrubs. They fetch their firewood here. These shrubs are very smoky, but with the new stove that has a chimney to emit smoke, their cooking has been cleaner. There is less coughing and chest congestion due to smoke. The members have also been attesting that they use minimal firewood, almost half the amount they had been using before. This factor has made most of them reconsider buying cleaner wood for fuel since they will use fewer amounts equating to lower amounts of money being used for fuel.”
Equity is highly valued among women's groups and, to meet this need, FHF has used funds allocated to stoves from our annual Christmas to purchase stoves for the remaining 18 members of this group.
Claire added that “the members express their gratitude each and every day. They can hardly believe that in such a short time, they have received these items, and they are already functional.”
