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Fuel efficient stoves produced by and distributed to refugee women in South Sudan save lifes, reduce conflicts and exhaustion of natural resources.
Fatna Baekir knows exactly how much straw, cow dung, dirt and water is needed to mix the perfect clay. She is the first refugee woman in the Yusuf Batil camp to take on a production of fuel-efficient stoves in corporation with the protection and camp management team from the Danish Refugee Council. She is also a trainer of other refugee women, who have started their own production.
“The traditional stoves use more fuel, because they are too open,” says Fatna Baekir, who has been part of developing the prototype of the fuel efficiency stove that is now being produced and distributed in the camp.
“I did a lot of different stoves to begin with. They were all good for different things, but one was too big, one was best for bread, and then we finally decided on this one because it uses less fire wood and cooks most things good,” Fatna Baekir says, while her hands work fast forming the cow dung clay by her feet.
After having produced the perfect prototype, she took on teaching other refugee women how to make the stove. Today she and the 33 women she has taught this far, is able to produce an average of five stoves a day that DRC buys from the women to distribute as fast as possible to those interested.
“There is a general lack of resources in this area – everything is in demand; firewood, building materials and water,” says Camilla Kragelund, Emergency Team Leader, DRC South Sudan, when explaining why it is necessary to change the way the refugee women do their cooking.
“We have to find solutions like this to limit the tension between the host community and the refugees. Further there is a high risk of sexual and gender based violence for the women forced to leave the camps to collect the wood,” Camilla Kragelund says.
DRC has been working in South Sudan since 2005. DRC and its mine action unit, DDG, provide emergency assistance, food security and livelihoods, mine action, armed violence reduction and community driven development. DRC holds the responsibility for three refugee camps housing more than 83.000 Sudanese refugees and is as co-coordinator to UNHCR, supporting the coordination of the refugee response in South Sudan.
