WISE Clean Cookstoves Training: An update from our Clean Cookstoves Women Entrepreneurs

On August 15th, the Atan Care Business Enterprise Team (one of the 15 two-person teams participating in WEA and WISE Nigeria’s Women’s Clean Cookstoves Training) hosted a community outreach event to share more about life-saving clean cookstoves with women in their local village.

Countless studies point to the adoption of affordable, effective, and durable clean cooking technologies as a key influencer on our planet. WEA works in Nigeria with women-led NGO, WISE, to train women in clean cookstoves entrepreneurship and to build a replicable training model for other regions. Around 93,000 people die each year of smoke-related illnesses in Nigeria, and globally 3 billion people cook over open fires, producing 2-5% of annual greenhouse gas emissions. Shifting to clean cookstoves reduces emissions while also protecting women’s health.

The training participants (in teams of two) have returned to their communities, equipped with new skills and seed grants to launch clean energy initiatives based on their business plans. They’ve hit the ground running – hosting outreach events to demonstrate the benefits of cookstoves and to motivate community members to purchase this life-saving solution.

Check out photos from an outreach event below, where clean cookstove entrepreneurs Anna Avong and Angelina Boye presented clean cookstoves to their community. Anna and Angelina’s Atan Care Business Enterprise Team chose to demonstrate the benefits of these stoves by cooking Nigerian jollof rice – a local favorite. Not surprisingly, participants immediately lined up to purchase stoves!

It continues to be such an honor to stand alongside these women leaders as they grow their business and advocacy skills, and create demand for clean cookstoves in their communities. It’s even more uplifting to see the collaboration, support and solidarity they offer each other – the key to success in our WEA training model.

Photos: WISE

To learn more about the WISE Women’s Clean Cookstoves Training, visit our project page here.

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