Watch this little video to get an overview of the WANDA-FOUR project !
THE PROBLEM
Cooking of daily meals for the family and at major ceremonies in rural areas is generally done on the wood fire over “three stones”.
Several studies have shown that smoke from open burning fire is highly toxic and harmful to the environment, as well as the health of the people who are exposed to it, especially pregnant women and newborns. Nonetheless, this is a basic and normal situation you still encounter in rural closed kitchens in Africa.
Health
Household air pollution coming from excessive smoke exposure may result into serious health diseases such as lung disease, lung cancer, cataracts, among non-smoking women and children in developing countries.
Economic situation
The other negative effects of traditional cooking methods devastatingly affecting women and children are usually the time and cost it takes to get source fuel. Studies showed that 25% of the household income are used to buy these source fuels. Thus, it reduces possibilities for further education, business opportunities and family time. Moreover, in developing countries, the rapid growth of the mass population means an increase in demand for unsustainable source of energy, driving prices higher, thus feeding the cycle of poverty.
Environment
The local forests are the suppiers of the cooking wood used as fuel in most developing countries. Along with the deforestation and african wood market, the remaining wood are usually transformed into charcoal, which is becoming an alternative to wood in area (cities) where forests are pretty inexistent. Note that 1 kg of charcoal often requires 8-12 kilos of wood, which is very destructive of our natural environment.
THE SOLUTION
With our engineering and project management background, we wanted to do something, even the simplest design to solve this problem. That is why our first project was to design, manufacture and distribute a clean cookstove in Cameroon with local expertise to create jobs.
We have designed the WANDA-FOUR, a simple metallic cookstove adapted to the local community's habits of cooking on wood and/or charcoal.
