Ethiopia - Cookstoves for coffee farmers
Ethiopia - Cookstoves for coffee farmers
Climate change has a major impact on coffee growing, not only our beloved cup is threatened, but also the existence of many small-scale coffee farmers in developing countries. Ethiopia's coffee forests contain wild coffee species that are crucial for coffee survival.
More than two billion cups of coffee are consumed worldwide every day. Much of this coffee is grown by small-scale farmers in developing countries. Of every 10 to 20 euros we pay in the store for a kilo of coffee, less than one euro often ends up at the coffee farmer. That is not enough for a living income. In addition, these farmers have another challenge, namely climate change.
This project collaborates with Fairtrade coffee farmers and other partners in the coffee chain to protect forests, reduce CO₂ and improve the resilience and well-being of coffee farmers and their families.
Since 2015, FairClimateFund has been working together with Fairtrade Netherlands, Horn of Africa Regional Environment Center and Network (HoAREC&N) and Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (OCFCU) in the Fairtrade Carbon Partnership. OCFCU is the largest coffee federation in Ethiopia and represents 400,000 farming families in 400 cooperatives.
The partnership aims to support these farmers in their fight against the consequences of climate change by distributing 40,000 cleaner cookstoves that reduce wood use and CO₂ emissions by 40%.
Project detail
PROJECT TYPE
- COOKSTOVES
PROJECT VERIFICATION
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
DOWNLOADS
LINKS
The total impact of the project
155
- CO2 reduction
x thousand tons of CO₂ reduced
13
- Cookstoves
x thousand more efficient cookstoves in use
96
- Wood
x thousand tons of wood (=192,724 trees) saved
The project in detail
In the areas where coffee farmers live, cooking is often done indoors on an open wood fire. This is very harmful to the health of mainly women and children. Furthermore, the use of wood is a major cause of deforestation in the region. Through the cookstove program, farming families are provided with a Mirt and a Tikikil, efficient cookstoves that reduce wood consumption and significantly reduce indoor smoke development. Eight local Mirt and Tikikil workshops have now been set up and more than 6,000 households have been provided with efficient cookstoves.
In addition, the Climate Academy has been established where farmers receive training in sustainable agricultural practices, such as efficient land use, planting shade trees and income diversification.
Highlights from 2024
Read about the activities carried out by our project partner Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (OCFCU) in 2024 and the impact the project has had on the Sustainable Development Goals so far.
155,605 tons of CO2 reduced in total
Project management by local partner
7.000 new cookstoves
Fairtrade premium as a driver for change
Impact on the Sustainable Development Goals
- Total impact: 96,362 tons of wood saved (192,724 trees).
- Total impact: 155,605 tons of CO2e reduced.
The 2024 impact has not yet been officially verified by Gold Standard.
- A woman saves an average of 8.7 hours per week.
- 13,728 cleaner cooking solutions installed
- This gives 51,525 people access to clean cooking.
Stories from the field
