4 billion people cook using dangerous indoor fires worldwide.
Smoke from indoor cooking fires is a leading cause of death of children under age five. It kills more people than AIDS and malaria combined. But that’s not where it stops.
“ “The most dangerous activity a woman in the developing world can undertake is cooking for her family, and most of them have a baby on the front or a baby on the back. For that baby, it’s equivalent to smoking three packs of cigarettes per day.””
Smoke…
Open fire cooking can produce smoke equal to 400 cigarettes per hour, causing indoor air to average a hazardous particulate matter concentration of 538 μg/m3.
Exposure causes respiratory infections, eye damage, heart and lung disease, and cancer. Women and children are affected the most.
Our cookstoves eliminate smoke inside the home, and reduce the total smoke emitted by almost 90%.
Climate change…
Carbon dioxide and black carbon released by open fires is a leading cause of climate change, and collecting wood for cooking fires is a leading cause of deforestation. 4 billion people still cook this way.
Our cookstoves reduce the amount of carbon emitted by up to 80% and reduce the need for wood by 50%.
Burns…
4 million burns are reported each year, and many more go unreported. Children are especially vulnerable as most open fires are on or near the ground.
Our cookstoves are cool to the touch, even when hot inside, so there is almost no risk of burns.
Wood…
Families can spend 20 hours a week or more gathering wood just to cook, time that could be spent on education or work that generates income. This task often falls to kids, and it leads to hernias, neck problems and back problems.
See what we’re doing to help.