Ghana faces significant environmental and health challenges due to the widespread use of traditional cooking methods. With the highest rate of deforestation in Africa, a large contributor is the reliance on wood and charcoal for cooking, which also produces substantial greenhouse gas emissions. Charcoal is the predominant cooking fuel in Ghana, accounting for more than three-quarters of domestic energy consumption.
The Gyapa cookstoves project addresses these issues by producing and selling clean-burning, fuel-efficient stoves designed to meet Ghanaian cooking styles and utilize their preferred fuel.
How Gyapa Cookstoves Work
Since the stove was designed with Ghanaians in mind, the cook does not have to adjust his/her cooking style to use it. Yet the stoves are twice as efficient as traditional cooking methods which helps reduce deforestation.
The Gyapa Improved Cook-Stoves project in Ghana generates emissions reductions through replacement of traditional inefficient charcoal stoves (locally known as “coal-pots”) with improved stoves. Three sizes of stoves are available for distribution for an average savings of .25 kgs - 3.81 kgs of emissions per day of use through utilization of a heavily insulated combustion chamber fortified by a ceramic liner.
Benefits of the Gyapa Cookstoves Project
This project provides families in Ghana with more efficient cookstoves that utilize less charcoal fuel than traditional “coal pot” stoves. Along with mitigating climate change, the reduction in charcoal production and cooking emissions also lessens exposure to indoor air pollutants and decreases exploitation of Ghana’s forests.
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The Gyapa cookstove’s success stems from its central objective to make the lives of Ghanaians easier and safer while putting less strain on the environment. Gyapa Enterprises’ roots its work in this ambition, and its market research team continuously searches for new products to develop, which can fill the needs of Ghana households.
Here's a detailed look at the benefits:
- Environmental Impact: Fuel-efficient, clean-burning Gyapa stoves are being produced and sold to people in Ghana on a large scale and over a multi-year plan. The clean-burning stoves’ substantiated reduction of greenhouse gasses considerably mitigates climate change. Furthermore, since the stoves are made entirely from locally-sourced recycled metal, there is no pressure to extract new natural resources for their production.
- Health Improvements: Gyapa stoves minimize the incidence of burns and reduce indoor pollution, leading to a safer and healthier cooking experience. Air pollution from traditional methods has been shown a key risk factor for childhood pneumonia as well as many other respiratory, cardiovascular, and ocular diseases. With each stove distributed mothers and children will be exposed to fewer hazardous air pollutants through reduced emissions of carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter.
- Economic Advantages: Gyapa buyers save money on fuel, as these cookers are significantly more energy-efficient. The cookstove’s fuel efficiency allows households to cut down their annual fuel costs by about 50 to 60%, a significant decrease of a major source of spending in most West African households. Fuel savings and health benefits rely on independent testing and studies.
- Job Creation: The project creates job opportunities, as the stoves are easy to produce and do not require any welding. The stoves also remain cheap enough for local families to afford. The number of Gyapa users is increasing every day. Gyapa Enterprises has grown tremendously since its creation, adding more skilled ceramicists, metal artisans, retailers and quality control checkers to its team. With the addition of new products and variations-the cookstove now comes in three different sizes-Gyapa has employed about 1,000 Ghanaians, providing specialized training and opportunities.
The Gyapa Enterprises’ cookstove has gone on to sell more than 1.4 million stoves in Ghana since it became available to the public in 2002. Its simple construction of an outer metal casing and an internal ceramic liner has made cooking easier, safer and more affordable for Ghanaians while creating new jobs and cutting carbon emissions.
The low cost of the cookstove, around $10, makes it easily accessible to Ghanaians, many of whom face poverty, with 10.6% of people in urban areas and 37.9% in rural areas.
Gyapa Enterprises Improved Cookstoves in Ghana 2min
Carbon Financing and Sustainability
JP Morgan’s ClimateCare began funding the program under carbon credit financing from corporate carbon offsetting in 2007. Since then, the cookstove has become enormously successful, receiving Gold Standard accreditation with the world’s largest issuance of Gold Standard carbon credits to date. The carbon financing keeps Gyapa growing, allowing the company to invest in new business partners, market products, maintain quality checks and provide training.
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CCL has a carbon offsetting agreement with the Swedish Energy Agency, which is being managed by Climate Care. The agreement specifies that CCL will receive approximately EUR5 for the first 500,000 tonnes of carbon emissions offset, which equates to EUR 2.5 million and for proportionate delivery up to end of 2018.
With sustainability in mind from production to usage, Gyapa Enterprises creates its cookstove using only locally and abundantly accessible materials. The craftsmen who make the metal casings, for example, use recycled materials from scrap metal (old roofing sheets, appliance casings and sometimes car doors). Once the cookstove gets into consumers’ hands, the ceramic liner allows Ghanaians to cook faster and with fewer fuels (wood or charcoal usually), resulting in decreased carbon dioxide emissions and lower annual fuel costs for families.
By supporting and facilitating the growth of the supply chain and production clusters, sales of Gyapa stoves have doubled since carbon funding was first introduced. Market opportunities also remain for further expansion into local production clusters to ease entry into new markets, as well as continue to generate additional employment. Tapping the demand for improved stoves has great market potential.
CookClean Ghana Limited (CCL) is a social entrepreneurship with a mission to improve social, environmental, and economic conditions for low and medium-income families in Ghana to consequently save and improve the lives of women and children.
CookClean’s mission is “To Protect and Save Lives and Our Forests”. By providing an efficient cook stove, indoor air pollution, forest degradation is reduced and families can hugely improve their livelihood through fuel savings.
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Key Statistics:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stoves Sold Since 2002 | Over 1.4 million |
| Carbon Emission Reduction | Estimated 4.2 million tons and counting |
| Household Fuel Cost Savings | 50-60% reduction |
| Thermal Efficiency (CookClean Stove) | 52% |
| Households Using Biomass as Main Fuel Source in Ghana | Over 84% |
Challenges and Future Directions
The non-availability of credit facilities hamper stove uptake and deter production scale-up.
While the Gyapa project is successful, challenges remain. Alliance Sud criticizes Switzerland’s Ghana cookstove offset project for lacking transparency, overstating emission reductions, and enabling Switzerland to delay domestic climate action.
Looking ahead, the project documents envision up to 180,000 improved stoves over multiple phases, pairing domestic manufacturing and consumer finance with rigorous MRV, so that climate finance substitutes for fossil-fuel subsidies while scaling a locally rooted clean-cooking pathway.
Gyapa Enterprises has progressed beyond cookstoves to create more eco-friendly products that improve Ghanaians’ lives and safety. Its CrystalPur Water Filter can provide a family of four with a year’s worth of safe drinking water before it has to be serviced for a new ceramic candle. Another Gyapa product that offers clean water to Ghanaian communities is the bob® Rain Water Bag, which collects and holds about 1400 liters of clean rainwater.
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