A Social Enterprise to Improve Health of Crisis-Affected People in Ethiopia Through Ethanol for Cooking

Household air pollution (HAP) from cooking smoke causes 4.3 million deaths per year (WHO). In Ethiopia, over 3 million children suffer from pneumonia annually (UNICEF, 2013), resulting in ~13,000 child deaths (IHME, 2013). Non-communicable diseases from exposure to HAP account for ~5% of all deaths in Ethiopia and are associated with negative birth outcomes (Fullerton et al., 2008). The situation is especially dire in refugee camps. Studies show that using ethanol for cooking can have a substantial impact on HAP-related mortality and illness, yet sustainable ethanol and stove distribution chains to refugee camps are lacking. Gaia Association (Gaia) has delivered clean cookstoves and government-sponsored ethanol fuel to 40,000 refugees in Ethiopia, but reliance on limited donor funds makes the work unsustainable despite high demand. To overcome this issue, Gaia, Project Gaia (PG), and the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (GACC) propose to establish a locally-run, women-led ethanol social enterprise in Kebribeyah. With UNHCR, Gaia will recruit and train women to assemble, sell, and maintain stoves and ethanol. They will reach 500 refugee, IDP, and host community households who cook with biomass. Payment plans will help lessen up-front stove costs. The project will benefit from 4 revenue streams: fuel sales, stove sales, maintenance services, and carbon credits. If successful, this market-based model will lead to significant long-term health impacts for beneficiaries.