Our mission is to provide local communities with clean, efficient, and affordable cooking and heating options in order to reduce indoor pollution and improve the kitchen environment.
Contact Information
Our Focus
RASD focuses on community health and environment through renewable energies (solar, biomass, biogas-human and animal) and sustainable technologies (affordable water supply technology, food security and value addition in the market chain, transport, improved cook stoves, low-cost building materials). With little expertise in these areas, RASD has opted to put emphasis on training and capacity building through partnerships with indigenous organizations.
The Resource Center has a solar power unit that provides part of the energy used at the center’s internet cafe. Our main target is the rural off grid people. RASD also builds affordable water filtration systems.
Our Experience And Interest In The Four PCIA Central Focus Areas
Our improved cook stoves are very appreciated by the local community. The main challenge is the cost of the improved cook stove. Most of the users cannot afford the $20 per stove. The saving of firewood makes the stove very attractive. However, users of new improved stoves occasionally still use the traditional three stone fire for cooking some special meals.
RASD plans to use carbon credits to subsidize the production of improved stoves so as to address the affordability barrier. We are currently looking for potential partners willing to pre-finance the expansion of our production units. RASD's current potential of annual production capacity is 1,400 stoves. We are exploring partnership so as to make more stoves that will solve the problem of indoor pollution. There is a huge potential market in the region around RASD: out of over 250,000 households living in the proximity of RASD(54 Km), 98% still rely on biomass for cooking using the three stone fire. This is a potentially big market for the dissemination of clean cook stoves. RASD's stove can save up to 1.5 tons of CO2 annually. With a subsidy of $10 per stove, the selling price will be $10 which is very affordable to local people. The demand for a low-cost improved stove is very high in the region.
We have two types of stoves: wood stove with ceramic liner and charcoal stove with ceramic.
We have a well qualified monitoring and evaluation team which constantly follows up our products to get feedback from the users. We address all setbacks/constraints once we identify them or they are brought to our attention. We organize stove exhibitions during local events to showcase the importance and advantages of using improved cook stoves
Relevant Publications or Studies
None noted
Our Contribution to the Partnership
We will make partnerships with other agencies in the modification, improvement, or what so ever to realize our dream of a clean, efficient, affordable and safe cooking stoves so as to reduce indoor pollution.
