Energy-saving Stoves

Making an Energy-saving Stove at your school is another great 'African Gardens' project to get your pupils involved in. This special stove design helps African families burn less wood, and is also a great learning tool to use with kids in the UK.

They can be used to talk to pupils about all sorts of important issues, such as climate change, energy use and sustainability. They are also great fun to make, with plenty of opportunities for teamwork, problem solving and very messy hands!

You could have a competition splitting your class into teams, all racing to make one, and then when the stove is dry, a race to boil a pint of water! Or see how long it takes to boil some water on an open fire compared to using the stove.

Use these step-by-step Energy-saving Stove instructions to help you make your own fantastic stove. You can also make a smaller version for just one pot by simply modifying the design.

Energy-saving Stoves in Africa

In an many African countries, if you've got no gas or electricity for cooking, burning wood on an open fire may be your only choice. But open fires use a lot of wood, which takes a long time to collect and damages the local environment. These open fires are often 'three stone' fires, where: most of the heat escapes around the sides of the pot; smoke fills the kitchen and children often stumble and fall into the fire.

'Each year, about 2 million people worldwide die prematurely from smoke inhalation from cooking fires.'

World Health Organisation

The Energy-saving Stoves that Send a Cow uses in its training need only one third of the wood that an open fire uses, take harmful smoke away from the kitchen and are safer for children - saving trees, time and people's health. There is a noticeable difference in the amount of trees still growing around Send a Cow families’ houses compared to communities without fuel saving stoves. More trees mean that their soils will be less likely to wash away in a flood and in extreme cases, ground cover by trees and bushes can prevent mud and landslides.

Help us teach more families this vital technque

Please support our work in teaching people how to make these stoves that save trees and childrens' health in Africa. Why not club together as staff or as a class and buy the Gift of a Stove for £22 on our gifts website?