Myanmar Stoves Campaign

The Myanmar Stoves Campaign, a Soneva Foundation program, is the first Gold Standard certified carbon project in Myanmar. The 55,000 fuel efficient stoves sold to date have improved the lives of over 250,000 people.

Myanmar is the third largest contributor to deforestation worldwide. As the forests disappear, the price of wood gets higher, driving more and more families into energy poverty. Cutting expenditures on wood makes a huge difference to families already living in poverty, and reducing the time needed to forage for wood means more time to spend on smallholdings and on securing a good harvest. Rural families in Myanmar spend as much as 40% of their income – or the time equivalent – on purchasing or collecting firewood.

Indoor cooking on inefficient stoves is a silent killer. Air pollution from domestic cooking is responsible for the premature deaths of over 4 million people a year—more than HIV Aids and malaria combined. Each cook stove reduces wood consumption by at least 50%, reducing both pressure on forests and household expenditure on fuel. Air pollution is reduced by 80%, improving the health and safety of the whole community. Carbon emissions are reduced by 60%, or four tons per year, per stove.

The Myanmar Stoves Campaign is a project of the Soneva Foundation. The Soneva Foundation acts as the project developer, coordinator and manager. Mercy Corps Myanmar is the local implementation partner. The Soneva Foundation supports the development of environmental projects that reduce carbon emissions at the same time as addressing deeper social and environmental challenges. Using innovative impact investing principles, projects produce their own financial returns which are used to further scale reach and impact.

Project impacts and benefits:

• Over 55,000 stoves sold to households in rural Myanmar.
• Over 250,000 people benefits from lower energy costs and reduced indoor smoke.
• Over 1,000 vendors trained to sell the stoves.
• Certified vendors average annual income contribution of US$300 from sales commissions.
• Over 1,000 villages reached.
• US$ 41 million in social value generated from the campaign.
• 60% less fire-wood required by each stove.
• Each stove saves 2.5 tonnes of wood per year.
• US$ 40 saved per household per year.
• Reduced air pollution inside household kitchens improves the health and safety of the whole community.

More project information can be found in the Gold Standard Impact Registry. 

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

Contact details:

Arnfinn Oines
Secretary
Soneva Foundation
arnfinn@soneva.com
www.sonevafoundation.org