Man and Man Enterprise Improved Cooking Stove Program - Ghana

Man and Man Enterprise Improved Cooking Stove Program in Ghana is promoting and disseminating improved cookstoves in urban poor communities in Ghana.

Key facts:

The improved cookstove reduces charcoal consumption by 50%;
200,000 efficient cookstoves have been sold and are saving end users 40% of their money per annum.

The problem

In Kumasi, Ghana, households mainly rely on woodfuel and inefficient methods or devices for cooking purposes. An average of 4.36 tonnes of woody biomass per urban household is currently consumed each year, contributing to deforestation in the surrounding area.

The solution

This activity has promoted and disseminated affordable and efficient improved cookstoves to low income Ghanaian households. The associated awareness and training campaigns will help Ghanaian households replace their traditional open fire or three-stone stoves with improved cookstoves, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 47,244 tonnes of CO2 each year. There are four different sizes of improved cookstoves. The standardized one will be disseminated in households. They have an average thermal efficiency of 31%, making them significantly more efficient than traditional stoves.

Helping the planet

The improved cookstoves are produced from local raw materials. No additional costs are incurred from transportation or imports, making the stoves cost around USD 8. This activity is located in an urban poor area in the Ashanti region of Ghana, making it more accessible to end users in the urban poor community. This activity also has a fleet of distribution vehicles, making it easier for them to reach households located outside the activity area.

Helping people

The urban poor have been involved in implementation through the manufacturing of the various stove parts, dedicated to several artisan workshops throughout Kumasi’s market, which keep employed dozens of urban poor and build their skills as metalsmiths, painters and potters.