CREEC PROMOTES SUSTAINABILITY WITH BIO-ETHANOL

In response to the current unsustainable dependence on biomass as a source of fuel for both cooking and lighting in Uganda, the Centre for Research in Energy and Energy Conservation (CREEC) together with Scale Biofuel, Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI) and sugar factories in Uganda have launched a clean cooking project to provide a new clean cookstove that uses bioethanol as a cooking fuel. For the pilot study, a burner and a small jerrycan containing bioethanol were provided for the participants. A clay traditional stove was also provided where the ethanol burner would be placed for stability when cooking.

Residents of kikoni a suburb in Makerere recieving bio-ethanol stoves and fuel

On 3^rd August 2016, CREEC distributed 40 stoves in Kikoni a suburb around Makerere University where tutorials where offered to the community to encourage them to participate in the pilot study that will make it possible to eventually modify the stove. The main purpose is for the people to experience the stove while documenting their cooking experience which will determine how the stove and the cooking fuel can facilitate people’s cooking needs and if not what can be done to make it perform better. The users of the stoves will be monitored as more areas will be covered for the pilot study.

The project is thus assessing and establishing the viability of the new cooking system in light of the social-economic environment of Uganda in general, specifically targeting the local communities in Uganda. This is expected to provide an alternative cooking system that will greatly reduce the dependence on wood based fuels as a source of energy for cooking which will translate into a healthier ecosystem and homes.