Uganda’s clean stove revolution

In a busy market in the Ugandan capital of Kampala, a group of women gather to cook. While the dishes they prepare are traditional, the brightly coloured stoves they cook on are new.

The locally made Ugastove, which requires on average half the amount of charcoal that traditional cookers use, saves money in reduced fuel costs, cuts carbon emissions and reduces deforestation.

Ugastove’s special ingredient is an insulating clay liner placed inside the traditional metal stove, which reduces the need for charcoal. To date, 250,000 units have been sold.

In Uganda, more than 90 percent of the population still cook over open fires using charcoal or wood. In the last 20 years alone, this has contributed to almost one-third of the country’s trees being cut down.

In this earthrise special, Russell Beard travels to Kampala to see how the Ugastove is slowing deforestation in Uganda.