[act-ma] 1/9/14 - Cookstoves in Zambia

[George Mokray]

A Great Technology is Not Enough: Cultural Dimensions of Change
Mattias Ohlson
Jan/09	Thu	01:00PM-02:00PM	N51-310
Enrollment: Limited: First come, first served (no advance sign-up) 
Limited to 40 participants
Half of the world’s population use firewood or charcoal for cooking, using old cooking technologies such as open fires or low-efficiency stoves. The negative health effects are staggering: an estimated 4 million people die every year due to indoor air pollution from open fires, more than malaria and HIV/AIDS combined. Families spend a substantial part of their household income on cooking fuel. In addition, making of charcoal is one of the primary causes of deforestation in Africa.

Emerging Cooking Solutions, a social business working in Zambia, has created an innovative system using micro-gasfying cooking stoves and locally produced waste biomass pellets, which reduce emissions drastically, saving money and time for the users and preserving about 6 tons of virgin forest for each stove that use pellets instead of charcoal. Their approach is to work with women’s groups, churches and other local organizations to reduce the initial threshold of entry and create a product that works in the local cultural context.   
 
Hear founder Mattias Ohlson and Marion Peterson speak about their challenges and opportunities launching a social business in Zambia.
Light refreshments
Sponsor(s): D-Lab, Public Service Center
Contact: Sally Chapman, 33-309, 617 253-4926, SALLYC at MIT.EDU