Efficient and Clean Cooking for Mozambican Low-Income Households

In Mozambique, firewood and charcoal are the primary energy sources for cooking, heating, and lighting in households. An estimated 93% of the total population relies on solid biomass-based fuels for cooking, and in urban areas such as Maputo, 85% of households depend on charcoal to meet their cooking energy needs.

Recently, rising charcoal prices have imposed economic hardships on peri-urban communities. Furthermore, cooking with biomass using inefficient stoves poses severe health risks, particularly for women and children, as it contributes to respiratory diseases due to indoor air pollution. Inefficient stoves also increase deforestation, forest degradation, and significant carbon dioxide emissions, exacerbating climate change.

To address these challenges, Mozambique Carbon Initiatives Limitada (MozCarbon) has implemented a project distributing over 12,500 improved charcoal cookstoves to low-income households. These stoves significantly reduce charcoal consumption and related expenditure (accounting for 30% of the target group’s monthly income) improve indoor air quality, and promote access to affordable, clean energy.

Locally Produced Solutions

The stoves are manufactured in a factory operated by MozCarbon, creating jobs and developing local skills, particularly for young men and women. Distribution of the stoves to households is done by promoters, 70% of whom are women, using a door-to-door sales approach in Maputo.

Affordable Payment Options

To ensure affordability, the stoves are subsidized by MozCarbon, with beneficiaries paying 50% of the stove production cost. Payments can be made in installments for up to 90 days, with an initial down payment of 30%. Each sale is carefully recorded to track household adoption and impact.

Monitoring and Certification

A dedicated team, comprising call center agents, field agents, and Gold Standard approved auditors, monitors project impacts to ensure they are real, verifiable, and traceable.

Project Impacts and Benefits

This project directly supports the following SDGs:

Climate Action (SDG 13): By reducing over 97,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions during its lifetime, mitigating deforestation, and decreasing forest degradation.

Poverty Reduction (SDG 1): The stoves save households up to 60% in charcoal consumption, as verified in laboratory and field tests, significantly reducing monthly expenses.

Good Health and Well-being (SDG 3): Improved stoves reduce kitchen smoke by 70%, cutting the incidence of respiratory diseases that currently claim 13,000 lives annually in Mozambique, half of whom are children. Surveys indicate 93% of users report reduced kitchen smoke and associated health benefits.

Certification documents are available in the Gold Standard Impact Registry

Contact details: 

Mozambique Carbon Initiatives Limitada (MozCarbon)

Address: Avenida Filipe Samuel Magaia No.1675, Maputo, Mozambique

Contact Person: Goodmore Chatora

Direct Email: gchatora@mozcarbon.co.mz

General Email: info@mozcarbon.co.mz

Phone: (+258) 872 964 303; (+258) 21 422 188

Vintages of credits: 2020
N.B.  Individual vintages cannot be selected for purchase. Purchases will include credits from the vintage range stated.