Rwanda Environment Management Authority through the Forest Landscape Restoration in the Amayaga Region (Green Amayaga) Project is distributing improved cookstoves to beneficiaries of the project in Kamonyi district.

These cookstoves are being distributed to promote energy efficiency as one of the project components.

From Tuesday, 23^rd February 2021 to Friday 26^th February 2021, four thousand (4,000) cook stoves were distributed to beneficiaries of the Project in Mugina sector in Kamonyi district to help them improve human health and contribute to deforestation and climate change mitigation.

In total, 11,000 improved cookstoves will be distributed in Kamonyi four sectors of Kamonyi district in financial year 2020/2021. Four thousands (4,000) cookstoves will be distributed in Mugina sector, 4,000 in Nyamiyaga sector, 1,500 in Nyarubaka sector, and 1,500 in Rugarika sector.

Other districts (Gisagara, Nyanza and Ruhango) will start receiving the same cookstoves next financial year 2021/2022.

In all districts covered by the project, 60,000 improved cookstoves will be distributed over the six years of the project, which will reduce about 5 Million tons of GHG emissions in 6 years and this means that, as REMA explains, in 20 years those cookstoves will reduce 15 Million GHG emissions compared to the air pollutants we currently have in Rwanda.

The cookstoves’ thermal efficiency is above 30 and save firewood more than 50% comparing to traditional 3 stones stoves, which make them contribute to deforestation mitigation.

According to Philbert Nkurunziza, Green Amayaga Project Coordinator, “the distributed cookstoves will also contribute to achieving the project’s goal of restoring the natural forests in its intervention zones, due to the cookstoves efficiency to save energy comparing to 3 stones stoves, the traditional way of cooking.”

These cookstoves will also contribute to socio-economic development of beneficiaries, since due to their efficiency to save energy and time, beneficiaries will get the opportunity to do other income generating activities.

Green Amayaga Project is a ground-breaking six-year initiative that will afforest the degraded ecosystem and restore the natural forests of four districts in Rwanda’s Southern Province. It also aims at building resilience of Amayaga region community to climate change.

Beneficiaries of Green Amayaga Project commend the project’s interventions, as distributed cookstoves will greatly contribute to gender equality.

According to Jeannette Nyiramana, a resident of Nteko cell, Mugina sector in Kamonyi district, “women who are mostly involved in family responsibilities, will also get the opportunity to do other income generating activities due to the cookstove’s efficiency to save energy and time”

Green Amayaga Project under REMA’s implementation is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) trough the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Its intervention areas are Kamonyi, Nyanza, Ruhango and Gisagara districts.