PROJECTS
KITGUM AND PADER PROJECT
TRAINING OF 56 FARMER FIELD SCHOOLS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
AND DISSEMINATION OF MUD ROCKET ENERGY SAVING STOVES
Due to extreme poverty, the community in the
northern part of Uganda almost entirely depends on biomass for
its energy needs, particularly for cooking; hence the current
pressure on the existing biomass resource is significantly high.
This is exacerbated by the use of inefficient cooking devices
and wasteful cooking practices. The resultant rapid environmental
degradation is likely to frustrate the effort of recovery to
economic productivity, since the population will have moved
from an armed insecurity only to enter into an environmental
insecurity.
To safeguard against this disastrous scenario, Food and Agricultural
Organization (FAO), which is one of the major stakeholders in
Northern Uganda recovery effort, contracted the Sustainable
Energy and Organic Farming Systems (SEOFS) to conduct a training
of farmer groups in the construction of Mud Rocket Energy Saving
Stoves. This type of stove, which was developed by the Uganda
Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, with the support
of GTZ has the following advantages:
a) Fuel saving: It uses only 30% of the wood
in comparison to the 3 stone fire.
b) Almost smokeless during operation: This helps to prevent
likely respiratory diseases caused by smoke.
c) Easy to operate: Has an air inlet that ensures a continued
draught, so there is no need to keep on blowing air into the
fire all the time.
d) Affordable: Can be made out of locally available materials
like grass and Sub-soil
e) Safe to use: It reduces the danger of burns (especially to
the children) since it is enclosed.
f) Environmentally friendly: It uses less firewood and reduces
indoor air pollution through significant smoke reduction.
g) Faster cooking: Experience from the user’s shows that it
takes only half of the time for cooking, compared to the traditional
3 stone fire.
As a beginning of the cooperation, FAO and SEOFS entered into
agreement to implement a stove dissemination program during
the period August to October 2008. In this contract, SEOFS was
required to train 56 Farmer Field Schools (FFS) in Kitgum and
Pader districts
2.1 The major objectives of the project
a) To train 306 people in the skills of stove construction and
create capacities in rural communities that will construct at
least 1706 improved energy saving stoves in the households of
Farmer Field School (FFS) members in the targeted districts.
b) To create awareness about improved energy conservation methods,
alternative energy sources and factors for fuel wood scarcity
in the targeted districts.
c) To build a chain of social-technicians/trainers within the
Farmer Field Schools with sufficient skills to disseminate the
stove technology.
3. Summary of the Planned Activities
The following are the activities as planned throughout
the project period:
a) Carry out Local Community Leadership sensitization
and mobilization in the region to popularize the stove project.
b) Carry out selection of the Three FFS members from each FFS
for training (FFS Experts).
c) Carry out public awareness raising
d) Carry out 10 days training workshop for 5 FFS members, 1
member from FAO Local Partners and the Local Leaders.
e) Carry out monitoring/Follow -up and quality control at all
levels of the training and construction stages.
f) Report writing
It exciting to realize that given the systematic
implementation approach applied, all these objectives have been
successfully achieved even much easier than would be expected.
This is due to the combined effort of, the Community Leaders,
FAO Staff-Kitgum Sub-Office and the cooperation of the Farmer
Field School Members as well as the support of SEOFS Trainers,
Monitors and Supervisors
4. ACHIEVEMENTS
The implementation of the project was done in
a succession of activities
In August 2008, SEOFS started implementing the
project activities. First, SEOFS held a discussion with FAO
Kitgum Field Office and introduced its proposed Strategy and
Work Plan. Then preliminary discussions were held with different
stakeholders in the districts including the Resident District
Commissioner (RDC), the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO),the
District Local Leaders, and other implementing partners and
Farmer Field School facilitators respectively.
A sensitization workshop was held on 8th August
2008 for all the stakeholders including FFS facilitators and
Local leaders with a purpose of creating awareness on the project
and discussing the strategy to be undertaken. Thereafter, the
training of selected members of FFS commenced.
4.1 SENSITIZATION
A sensitization workshop was held at JC INN Conference
Hall for the District Authorities including the Resident District
Commissioner (RDC), Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), the
District Education Officers (DEOs), the Community Development
Officers (CDOs) and Local Leaders like the LCs and other Implementing
partners including LWF, KIDFA among others and FAO Kitgum
In this meeting we discussed SEOFS strategy in
conjunction with FAO to train 56 Farmer Field Schools in the
construction of improved energy saving Rocket Lorena stoves
showing their great importance not only to the household but
also their contribution to Bio-mass mitigation in the country.
The stakeholders were all gratefully interested
in this new innovation of improved energy saving Rocket Lorena
stove and thus gladly welcomed the project, however they raised
some critical issues on the implementation of the project activities
especially on how to harmonize the project activities with the
ones they were already undertaking thus a program was draw to
integrate the stove activities with out affecting the other
on-going activities.
More still, some Leaders were a little disappointed
that the project was going to benefit only those people who
belonged to FFS. However, we encouraged them that with the cooperation
and support of all the stakeholders concerned; we would reach
all interested households through those who would be trained.
We also in turn asked for the support all the
Leaders in mobilizing and sensitizing the general public about
the project and also requested the Farmer Field Facilitators
to help us in identifying and selecting the 5 members from each
FFS for training to which they accepted.
4.2 MOBILIZATION AND SELECTION OF TRAINEES
As requested, the Farmer Field School facilitators together
with the Local Leaders identified 5 FFS members who were invited
for the training. The selection depended upon individuals who
showed greater interest, creativity, self-motivated, influential
and hardworking, as well as ready to cooperate with the project.
A team of mobilizers organized the selected FFS
members and allocated them their different classes within which
to be trained depending on there respective Parishes and Subcounties
of residence
4.3 TRAINING OF THE STOVE ARTISANS
The training which was targeting 306 people started on 12th
August 2008, it was not synchronically done as earlier expected
due to the long distance between the two Districts so we began
the training in Kitgum District and after wards in Pader District.
However, a similar training approach was followed
in both districts with a formal and practical training done
in the first 3 days and in the subsequent 5 days the trainees
were initiated in the mobilization process, preparation of materials
and actual construction of stoves and then 1 day for training
in finishing and 1 day for firing of the stove
The training was supervised by 5 monitors and
2 Supervisors with each monitor over seeing 3 training classes
to ensure that the training process is conducted as planned
and also give more back-stop training.
A total of 726 stoves were constructed during
the training period and 339 trainees (Selected FFS members together
with some Local Leaders and Farmer Field School facilitators)
were fully equipped with the skills to mobilize, prepare materials
and construct the Rocket Lorena stove
The number of trainees exceeded that which was
targeted by 33 therefore there was a need to create 2 classes
for these trainees as well. There reason for this increase in
the number of trainees was because during mobilization, the
community leaders sensitized several community members as well
about the energy saving stoves therefore many of whom were in
a desperate situation to reduce their fuelwood crisis decided
to attend the training so they could build stoves for them selves
and probably their neighbors so we agreed with the local leaders
to give chance to some of them to be trained and we asked them
to train their fellow community members.
Furthermore, there was a very good and regular
turn up and attendance of the trainees for the training especially
by the FFS members with a 100% turn up and the local leaders
including the local community members. This is attributed to
a vast mobilization and Sensitization activity carried out by
the FFS facilitators and the Local Leaders as requested by SEOFS
during the Leaders Sensitization workshop.
| In the photos below are some of the trainees
being instructed in the preparation of materials and construction
of Energy Saving Household Rocket Lorena Stoves |
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Mrs. Atim Christine
now happily cooking on her new improved fuelwood saving
shielded rocket stove. |
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In the photo
are some of the Beneficiaries preparing stove
construction materials in Omiya-anyima Subcounty
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| A couple
cooking together on a rocket stove inside their house
(Akwang Subcounty) |
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| A photo taken from Mrs. Christine Atim’s
home in St Mary’s Lapul. She says that initially she would
use 3 bundles of wood in one week for cooking but now with
improved Rocket stove, she uses the same amount of wood
for a month |
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