Utsil Naj - healthy homes for all in Mexico

For the past few decades, Mexico has suffered from the adverse effects of climate change. Extreme weather events and increasingly unpredictable patterns have significantly disrupted crop yields – this is particularly devastating for those communities who rely on their crops both for their own nutrition and for ensuring their incomes.

The Utsil Naj programme has been designed as a multi-intervention large-scale programme of activities for Latin America. It disseminates technologies with strong social impacts to poor populations of the continent in order to improve their living conditions in a sustainable way. The project focuses on rural beneficiaries who are often the most vulnerable communities.

Utsil Naj currently operates in Mexico, Guatemala (LINK) and Honduras (LINK), where Microsol teamed up with local partners selected for their experience on the ground and their understanding and relations with the communities benefiting from the programme. To date, the programme has installed more than 22 000 improved cookstoves, benefitting over 100,000 people living in poverty.

One of the cookstove distribution programmes, Patsari, the GIRA’s improved cookstove, was acknowledged with an Ashden Award for reducing the respiratory disease by 30% and eye infections by 50%, this was all thanks to a 70% reduction in indoor air pollution. The technologies of the programme enable the populations to improve their quality of life having direct access to safe water and clean and efficient cookstoves.

Microsol is a social business and reinvests 100% of the revenue generated by the sale of carbon credits back into maintaining and expanding its projects. In addition, Microsol is actively involved in discussions with local governments and works with international organisations to define the roadmaps to scale up stove implementation. Microsol believes that the only way to really make a difference is by understanding and working with both communities and the local authorities. 

Project impacts and benefits:

Project impacts include health, social, environmental and economic benefits. The improved cookstoves are great tools for women empowerment, allowing them to cook more quickly, but also to reduce the chore of wood and freeing up time for the education of children. These stoves are also more efficient, therefore reducing CO2 emissions and helping to decrease deforestation thus contributing to the conservation and protection of biodiversity. Below you will find the latest figures obtained during the last project verification.

• SDG 1: No Poverty – Since the project's inception, 129,347 people have benefited from access to clean cooking technology.
• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being – From 2015 to 2018, 98% of beneficiaries surveyed reported a reduction or elimination of coughing, respiratory diseases, and burns following the installation of improved cookstoves. Additionally, 94% noted less frequent or no occurrence of back pain.
• SDG 4: Quality Education – Between 2015 and 2018, 99% of beneficiaries surveyed received training on the benefits and proper use of improved cookstoves, and 86% actively participated in the construction of the cookstoves.
• SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – Since the project's launch, 26,953 improved cookstoves have been monitored, providing daily benefits to families.
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – Between 2015 and 2018, 54 permanent jobs were created for local communities.
• SDG 13: Climate Action – Since the project's inception, 172,720 tCO2 have been prevented from being released into the atmosphere.
• SDG 15: Life on Land – Since the start of this project, the use of improved cookstoves has saved 39,178 tons of wood annually, helping to prevent deforestation, reduce forest degradation, and maintain biodiversity.

For more information about this project, please see the project spotlight on the Gold Standard website. For project documentation you can visit the Gold Standard Impact Registry or contact the project developer directly: Microsol>>

Vintages of credits: 2018
N.B.  Individual vintages cannot be selected for purchase. Purchases will include credits from the vintage range stated.