FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Gaia Association and SEI Launch New Initiative to Produce Clean Cooking Fuel from Waste for Addis Ababa Households
December 1, 2011 – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
On November 23, Gaia Association, in partnership with Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and the Ethiopian Environmental Protection Authority, launched the new project “Fuel from Waste: Demonstrating the Feasibility of Locally Produced Ethanol for Household Cooking in Addis Ababa.”
Ethiopian non-profit Gaia Association will implement the two year initiative supported by a grant from the Nordic Climate Facility (NCF), financed by the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) and implemented jointly with the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) that will fund the installation of a pilot ethanol microdistillery plant in the outskirts of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The project will demonstrate the feasibility of ethanol microdistilleries (EMDs) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to provide fuel to meet urban household energy needs.
The project was launched on November 23, 2011 during a workshop facilitated by the implementing partners; Gaia and SEI. Approximately thirty participants including Ethiopian government, civil society and private sector stakeholders attended. The workshop included presentations on the environmental and sustainability issues of clean cookstoves and fuels.
The pilot distillery will be run by a local women’s cooperative The Former Women Fuelwood Carriers Association (FWFCA), to produce ethanol from collected fruit and vegetable waste for household cooking for cooperative members and eventually, other households. Gaia Association and local energy experts will determine the feasibility of ethanol fuel and the ethanol CleanCook stove in selected Addis households. The Ethiopian Environment Protection Authority will undertake the Environmental Impact Assessment of the project. SEI will manage the project, conduct a detailed socioeconomic impact analysis, and coordinate the overall feasibility study.
The project is a “triple win” designed to replace the traditional use of biomass in households, improve health and improve livelihoods in the community. The project will support the Ethiopian Government’s efforts to mitigate climate change and deforestation by replacing traditional biomass with clean-burning, locally produced ethanol and modern stoves. The project aims to produce a model for replication which will be developed and communicated to Ethiopian and international policy makers.
Gaia Association is an Ethiopian non-profit, non-governmental organization working to provide clean-burning stoves and alcohol fuels to families in Ethiopia since 2005.
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Contacts:
Mahder Alebachew – Project Coordinator, Gaia Association Ethiopia
+251-116-18-3540 | mahdera@projectgaia.com
Gulce Askin – Project Coordinator, Project Gaia USA
+1 717 – 334- 5594 | gulce.askin@projectgaia.com