Development of clean cooking facilities to boost climate change resilience in Malawi
By Dr Deepa Pullanikkatil, Co-Director Sustainable Futures in Arica and Co-Founder Abundance
The University of Glasgow’s project on “Sustainable Clean Cooking Facilities to boost resilience to climate change in Malawi” was amongst three out of over 30 applications that were funded by the Scottish Government’s Climate Justice Innovation Fund (CJIF) in 2019. This fund supports the delivery of climate justice related projects which field test the feasibility of new methods, technologies or approaches in tackling climate change, or trial new innovations on the path to scale.
This bioenergy project aims to help address deforestation in southern Malawi (Machinga) through delivering a sustainable biofuel production (biogas and biosyngas) using organic waste as fuel for clean and efficient cooking. The total funding is £122,583 and the project is implemented by the University of Glasgow (PI Dr. Nader Karimi) with partners in Malawi; Abundance, Fab Engineering, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) and LEAD.
The partnership in this project goes back to 2016, when Dr.Karimi and Dr.Pullanikkatil were connected through Sustainable Futures in Africa network. Between 2017-2018, Dr.Karimi and his colleagues from the University of Glasgow led a Biomass Energy study in partnership with Abundance to understand Malawi’s specific energy issues. Seeing first-hand that people still use the three stone stove, that women walk far distances to collect firewood, the rampant deforestation and that even simple fuel efficient technologies were not widely used in Malawi, inspired Dr.Karimi to think of a solution specifically “engineered” for Malawi. Dr.Pullanikkatil undertook a residency at the University of Glasgow in 2018, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, which gave her the opportunity to engage further with Karimi and connect him to colleagues in Malawi, who later became partners of this CJIF project.
This project addresses the need for clean energy and contributes towards improving energy security using a novel and innovative technology designed for Malawi. In Malawi only 11% of the population have access to electricity and 98% of people use wood fuel for cooking (a figure that remains unchanged since 2010). Exposure to smoke from cooking has severe negative health impacts and even in urban areas of Malawi, firewood is mainly used in open three-stone fires. The use of firewood and charcoal has contributed significantly to deforestation and the need for cleaner energy sources which are more efficient for cooking is much needed in Malawi. Majority of the clean energy interventions in Malawi focus on using “less” firewood or charcoal, through increasing efficiency of stoves, this project improves on this approach by eliminating firewood altogether as fuel and replacing it with organic waste.
The project responds to the needs of Malawi as articulated by its Government. Regionally, clean and efficient Energy is a priority as noted in the Southern African Development Community (SADC)’s Protocol on Energy, to which Malawi has been a signatory since 1996. Nationally, the overarching development master plan for Malawi is the “Malawi Growth and Development Strategy” or MGDS. The latest MGDS III has ranked Energy as one of its five key priority areas and calls for technologies that can aid rural areas to have affordable, clean and efficient energy. Furthermore, Malawi’s Climate Change Policy and Strategy has acknowledged the need for efficient and clean energy to help Malawi reach its climate action goals.
Abundance’s Ruth Mumba and Grace Moyo visited Fab engineering where Andrew Khonje was manufacturing the gasifier plant.
Using an innovative approach of combining biogas and biosyngas, this project is developing a clean and efficient energy technology that can help Malawians rise the energy ladder and also contribute towards achieving climate action goals. The reason to combine biogas and biosyngas technology is due to Malawi’s unique climate; a hot and rainy season from mid-November to April and a relatively cool and dry season from mid-May to mid-August. During the wet season, plenty of wet orgnic waste will be available, while in the dry season, it will be dry organic waste. A technology that can only work with wet biomass/organic matter will not be suitable for the dry season and vice versa; hence this innovative combination of biogas and biosyngas. Furthermore, this innovative technology is completely smokeless, which is different from the previously piloted efficient cooking technologies such as fuel-efficient stoves, which reduce smoke, but not completely remove it.
Through this project, a nationwide survey on biomass availability and its combustion properties was done by LUANAR in March 2020. Fab Engineering has assembled the energy plant with designs and instruction from the PI and colleagues from University of Glasgow. Currently, the plant is being tested with various types of waste including cow dung and rice husks, both of which are wastes readily available in the site where the technology will be piloted. The energy plant will be piloted at the kitchen of the Chilimba Primary school at Mbando village, where Abundance has been working since 2016. Abundance has set up a youth waste collection team of 10 men and 10 women, who have begun collecting dry and wet wastes at Mbando village. They have been able to find rice husks from a nearby rice mill, sugarcane waste and cowdung from smallholder farms within the village.
The testing of the cooker is ongoing and preliminary results are promising, as evident in the pictures where the gas flame successfully boiled water in a pot. Abundance’s Ruth Mumba and Grace Moyo visited Fab engineering where Andrew Khonje was manufacturing the gasifier plant.
COVID-19 has challenged the project team to undertake work with less physical contact with Mbando villagers. Meetings were held at the village with safe distancing. Malawi did not have a lockdown, however the team shared masks, cleaning materials with Mbando village and purchased a smartphone to ease communication for the Community Coordinator. As the number of cases of COVID-19 declined in the past weeks, a site visit was done on 8 October 2020 by Fab engineering and Abundance’s team. Stewart Paul, who recently returned from the University of Glasgow with a master’s degree joined Ruth Mumba and Grace Moyo in the visit.
The site chosen for the piloting is a kitchen used by Mary’s Meals, a Scottish charity that provides nutritious mid-day meals to children. Abundance shared the project idea with them and were delighted when they delivered 732kg of Corn Soya Blend (CSB) flour to Abundance’s offices in Zomba which will be used for the piloting phase. During piloting phase CSB porridge will be cooked and served to approximately 1200 children in the primary school. The partnership and generocity of Mary’s Meals in this project is much appreciated.
It is already well reflected in the open literature that extensive use of firewood and charcoal has led to massive deforestation and significant health issues in Malawi. This project aims to address the deforestation problem using organic waste in an innovative cooker instead of firewood or charcoal. The users of the technology are Mary’s Meals staff and teachers from Chilimba Primary School in Mbando village. In this regard, an indemnity form has also been signed by Abundance and Chilimba school to indemnify Mary’s Meals of any issues arising from the project. The piloting will be done for several weeks where the cooker will be tested. These users will be interviewed to improve the technology design and a reengineered design will be made that addresses their concerns. This way, the design is informed by local knowledge. After completion of the project, the system stays in the school and will be a permanent asset for the Mbando community. The project results will be widely disseminated through networks such as the SFA and private sector in Malawi will be encouraged to upscale the technology. The project will end in March 2021 and it is hoped it will leave a lasting legacy at Mbando village.
Living in an era of ecological bankruptcy
By Anthony Kadoma- PhD Student, Environmental Sustainability, University of Glasgow
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 85% of the world countries are ecologically bankrupt. Ecological bankruptcy is defined as a situation where a country’s natural resources are used at a faster rate than the same resources can regenerate. This bankruptcy is more pronounced in developed countries compared to middle-income countries and very few of the developing countries. Thus, many of the countries in Europe, Asia, and North America are perceived to be ecologically bankrupt. In the same way, developing countries that are not already there are not resting, they are also racing and are on a terrific speed to catch up with the developed nations. Global programs such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim at improving living standards across the globe mainly through poverty eradication. Although we all agree with the endeavour to eradicate poverty, by transitioning to improved standards of living, it is essential that this improvement is done cautiously and in awareness of the environmental costs that come with development.
Several examples can indicate ecological bankruptcy. This can manifests through the negative effects of climate change such as prolonged droughts, uncontrolled wildfires, hail storms, hurricanes, flooding, landslides, ever-changing seasons, excessive carbon-dioxide, loss of biodiversity, presence of many crops and animal pests and diseases, invasion of locusts, and unprecedented human destruction on environment. It is surprising to note that in Uganda, lakes that are traditionally known for not exceeding their usual levels have done so in the recent past – a phenomenon that had not been seen in decades.
Whereas it is difficult to pinpoint the actual causes of the above disasters, many of them may be linked to human activities and natural change processes. The global population currently stands at 7.8 billion with a 2.3 fertility rate (World Population Data Sheet-2020), living in an inelastic planet. Matters are made worse with the presence of non-ecological human behaviour and actions towards mother earth such as inappropriate disposal of plastic materials and general waste management. The ever-increasing human population also let to a significant encroachment on world wetlands driving them to disappear three times faster than forests (UN Climate Change Report- 2018).
Below I suggest what I consider the ten points or actions that can be taken to mitigate ecological bankruptcy in any given community. This list is not exhaustive and can be amended if more research is conducted to address specific issues.
- Increase awareness about the problem of ecological bankruptcy so that it is clearly understood by all.
- Enlist the participation of all stakeholders in whatever capacity they can support.
- Identify and promote locally based solutions grounded in indigenous knowledge.
- Study and share good practices globally, regionally, nationally and at the community level.
- Advocate for and influence human behavioural changes to adopt better waste management practices of reducing, recycling, and reusing. Conserve and use wisely the remaining ecosystems and make practical efforts to restore those destroyed.
- Identify and support alternative sources of livelihood for the majority of poor subsistence farmers. With improved living standards, they will be able to shift their practices towards more sustainable ones
- Establish and implement punitive measures for those who use their economic power and political connections to destroy the environment on a large scale. This can be achieved if politics is removed from the management of the environment.
- Make improvements in the quality of services offered to the citizens, especially in areas of health, education, and agriculture. It should be remembered that modern agriculture relies heavily on the use of hydrocarbons, pesticides, and fertilisers. These need to be used in moderation and where applicable be replaced with organic farming.
- Encourage everyone to take individual responsibility regarding how we live our lives. Planet-friendly actions need to be adopted. These among others may include free distribution and planting of several trees in areas where massive vegetation cover has been cleared, reforestation where forest lands have been decimated, and stopping the encroachment on wetlands and riverbanks as well as lakeshores.
- Finally, for most Sub-Saharan African countries, particularly Uganda, increase access to electricity and make it affordable to the citizens. At present (2020) only about 60% of the urban residents and 18% of the rural residents are connected to the national grid. Given the fact that over 75% of the population lives in rural areas (World Bank Report 2019), this paints a very grim situation. It implies that most of the people still rely on wood as their source of energy for cooking and lighting.
In conclusion, all individuals, communities and governments in both developed and developing nations need to be unequivocally aware of the fact that we are living in a natural resource-constrained planet. Our ecological overdraft gets larger day by day and year by year. Therefore, we need to be careful about how we harvest and use the scarce available resources as their scarcity is going to intensify as the world population increases, more disasters befall us, wrong political decisions are taken, and finally the presence of our uncontrolled greed.
Poetry from Malawi
By Yonah Trywell Mwandila, Malawi hub member
COVID-19
I am called Corona Virus.
Born in 2019, have already paralyzed operations, bodily and spiritually.
I am called Covid 19.
My moto is to perish human life on earth.
With no age limit, will know me through cough, fever and struggling for breath.
I am Corona Virus.
My greatest enemy is Ministry of Health,
when commanding people to wash hands with soap regularly, no hand shaking, wearing masks, social distancing and having few people in any gatherings.
I am Covid 19
I hate quarantine operations
my spreading cycle is easily broken
paying deaf ears to prayers I enjoy.
COVID-19: Green Recovery through Tree Planting
By Dr Deepa Pullanikkatil*, SFA Co-Director and Founder of Abundance
Multiple benefits of Tree Planting
Recently, a senior policymaker in Eswatini shared with me a video of mass tree planting in Pakistan as a COVID-19 recovery and climate action project. Construction workers and others who lost jobs due to COVID-19 were given $3 per day to raise seedlings and plant trees while following safety measures of wearing masks and maintaining safe distancing. Pakistan’s tree planting project is inspiring; and is part of the country’s 10 Billion Tree Tsunami programme. The origin of the project was before the pandemic, when in 2018, Prime Minister Imran Khan launched this ambitious 5 year project to counter the impacts of climate change; rising temperatures, flooding, droughts and other extreme weather. Their ambitious goal is to plant 10 billion trees across the country in 5 years.
In Africa, a similar ambitious tree planting project was implemented by Ethiopia. The highlight was a single day in July 2019, on which people across the country turned out to help with planting 350 million tree seedlings. Recently, in the UK, the Committee on Climate Change wrote a letter to their Prime Minister urging for increased tree planting to be at the heart of the green recovery. As part of COVID-19 recovery, there is need to create thousands of jobs in a short time, which does not require specialist skills and can provide income to the most poor and vulnerable, while at the same time allowing for social distancing. Tree planting ticks all the boxes and additionally, offer the best returns for government spending while moving closer to reaching net-zero emissions. Furthermore, a greener country attracts more tourists and tourism recovery plans are part of post COVID-19 strategies.
Zoonotic diseases and Deforestation
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light that zoonotic diseases that spread from animals to humans and is a sign of how interconnected health of humans and health of ecosystems are. There is a direct correlation of pandemics to deforestation and the health of our ecosystems. For example, the Ebola virus disease; in which bats were the carriers of the virus, spread to non-forest human inhabited areas due to forest fragmentation (which reduced habitats for bats). Deforestation is likely to increase frequent contact between infected wild animals and humans, increasing the threat of pandemics in the future. Hence, it is essential that we protect our existing forests and not encroach into them for expanding our agricultural farms and human settlements.
Forests and Climate Change
Globally, we lose trees at a rate of 50 soccer fields per minute. The forests in our world are some of the most valuable resources we have; besides providing oxygen, cleaning our air, providing a source of food, construction material, and habitats for biodiversity to thrive, most importantly, they are important line of defence against climate change. The United Nations have stated that we have about ten years to prevent irreversible damage from climate change. Tree planting is the easiest, cheapest and most effective climate solution.
However, we need to be careful and not look at tree planting as a panacea for everything. Planting trees in the wrong ecosystems could have adverse impacts for biodiversity and human well-being. Trees emit complex chemicals, some of which warm the planet and the dark leaves of trees can also raise temperatures by absorbing sunlight. Hence, before embarking on tree planting projects, a thorough, detailed, ecological understanding is critical for conservation and reforestation efforts to succeed.
Tree planting and post COVID recovery
Trees are a symbol of life and as we move towards a post-COVID-19 world, tree planting is likely to be part of the mix of projects that countries will implement. The attraction towards tree planting cannot be denied as they support green recovery pathways while providing multiple wins of job creation and resilience building for climate change. However, we need to look at recovery plans holistically, be informed by science and ensure that when we do tree planting, it is the right tree, at the right place for the right purpose.
* Dr Pullanikkatil is chairperson of the National Committee (Tourism and Economic Recovery Committee; Unlocking Climate Finance) set up by the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs in the Kingdom of Eswatini that supports post COVID-19 recovery. The ideas in this article were inspired from discussions with committee members.
AWOC distributes 1,353 learning packages to vulnerable youth
By Dalton Otim, Research Administrator of the Uganda hub
Through AWOC, the Uganda hub secured a small grant/donation from a member of Gutau’ Catholic Parish in Austria, in response to Education Support during the COVID-19 lockdown. This was meant to serve target beneficiaries from primary schools (1,150 pupils) and secondary schools (475 students) in marginalized communities of Alebtong District, Uganda. During the COVID-19 lockdown, unlike learners from urban areas in Uganda, learners from rural communities can’t access the online learning material produced by the Ministry of Education through National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC). The grant allowed AWOC’s team to:
- Procure working tools to schools (laptops, printers, cartons of paper, hand washing facilities and other office supplies);
- Print, photocopy and distribute self-study materials to the students (Sciences and Humanities packages);
- Mobilize learners through radio announcement pinned class schedules in public places.
Within one month, a total of 1,353 learners were given self-study material packages. Out of 1,353 learners 55% were males and 45% were females – 70% of all learners were from primary school and 30% were from secondary school.
Achievements
The required working tools were delivered as planned allowing the production of self-study materials at the beginning of June 2020. The team managed to control the number of learners attending the sessions by making a schedule for the distribution of the materials to learners. The schedule was enforced after the team received a police warning as enthusiastic students were not following the government directives of people gathering and social distancing.
Mobilization of learners was effective through radio announcements and pinning sessions schedules in public places. These methods ensured that learners from all the district came to the distribution centre. Learners signed agreements with the organisation – they pledge to make good use of the self-study material.
Challenges and lessons learnt
- Making sure that students and parents would follow government guidelines to restrict COVID-19 spread during distribution sessions;
- The team did not have data about the number of students and their respective grade who would come to the centre to acquire the self-learning material. Therefore, some packages were printed in excess.
- Some learners complained that their parents were not giving them enough time to read their books. They had to engage in domestic and garden work.
- Candidate classes came in big numbers compared to other Classes.
- Learners were not interested in attending teaching sessions over the radios. Some students who might have been interested in those sessions were not aware of these radio sessions (communication challenges).
- Learners are waiting for the second term packages so there is urgent need to produce and distribute them.
To minimise the impacts of the lockdown on the education of the rural youth, there is need for AWOC to continue supporting them. Their enthusiasm and appreciation of the efforts made by AWOC is heartwarming and attest of the importance of social equity in terms of crisis. There was no other alternative due to the COVID-19 lockdown apart from the materials they received from the centre. AWOC will continue to manage and overcome the challenges associated with the current context, and the team hope to secure funds to be able to keep supporting the learners and conduct follow-up visits.
Sustainable Development and the Global South
Collaboration with Glasgow School of Art
Future Experiences: Sustainable Development and the Global South
In 2019-2020, the SFA Network collaborated with the Glasgow School of Arts – Product Design on a project entitled the Future Experiences: Sustainable Development and the Global South. You can read more about it here.
The SFA Network is very pleased to announce that the project dataset collection is now live! The record is public and can be accessed here. Many SFA Members took part to the project and we would like to thank everyone for their contribution. They are included as an author on this dataset/project.
We recommend looking at the ‘Project Journey Map’ and the fantastic ‘Future Experiences Book’ in order to get a feel for what is there. But don’t stop there – this is a tremendously rich resource of output and know-how. This collaboration with the future designers from the Glasgow School of Art was truly inspiring and refreshing for the SFA team. The impact of this project and the engagement with designers is translating into the recent research applications submitted by the Network.
We encourage you to use and share the material from this project.
DOI: 10.5525/gla.researchdata.1019
SFA Newsletter - June 2020
SFA Newsletter - June 2020
The Sustainable Futures in Africa team is pleased to share with you, members, partners, institutions and communities, the Network’s newsletter for June 2020. The six SFA hubs have been busy with funding applications and planning the different activities, events, and objectives for the next chapter. We hope that you are all keeping well.
In this issue, you’ll find information about:
- Statistics about the SFA Short Video – TOGETHER
- Hubs updates and initiatives
- Project Development and Submitted Funding Applications
- SFA members Publications, Presentations and Resources
- Funding and engagement opportunities
Interview with Dr Pullanikkatil - the Nation on Sunday
By Vanessa Duclos, Research Manager
Dr Deepa Pullanikkatil has been interviewed by the Nation on Sunday about her work with Abundance. The article in the newspaper highlights Abundances successful initiatives and their impact for the Mmando Village and beyond. You can access the interview here.
Well done Deepa and team Abundance!
” We want the village to then in-turn empower other villages in creating ripple effects since our dream is to have a world of plenty, where there is no lack, for humans and nature to thrive.” – Dr Deepa Pullanikkatil.
Update on the CJIF Bioenergy project in Malawi
By Dr Deepa Pullanikkatil, Founder of Abundance
The Scottish Government Climate Justice Innovation Fund funded project “Development of sustainable clean cooking facilities to boost resilience to climate change in Malawi” is proceeding despite the COVID-19 restrictions. The team at Abundance is holding biweekly meetings with Dr Nader Karimi who is the PI for this project and with LEAD, LUANAR and Fab Engineering as partners.
LUANAR completed the survey on waste availability by studying agricultural and other organic waste available in different parts of the country in March/April 2020. Manufacturing on the prototype of biogas/biosyngas cooker has begun by Fab Engineering in Blantyre. This prototype will be piloted in the kitchen of the primary school at Mbando village in August 2020. Abundance held a meeting at Mbando village on 19 May with safe distancing to mobilise youth at Mbando village to collect dry and wet waste ahead of the piloting. Care will be taken to ensure gender balance within this youth team.
This project pilots an innovative technology specifically made for Malawi’s unique wet and dry seasons (which generate wet and dry organic waste). The dry and wet waste will be separately fed into a gasifier plant (biogas/biosyngas) to create energy for a cooker that can work year round. The technology is smokefree and has no negative health implications. A study on social and cultural aspects of using the cooker technology will be conducted by Abundance in August 2020.
A draft questionnaire is being prepared for the same and SFA members who are interested in this project and wish to review it are welcome to contact Abundance (abundance.future@gmail.com).
The University of Eswatini will host the new SFA Eswatini hub
By Dr Sizwe Mabaso, Hub Director of the Eswatini hub
The Department of Geography, Environmental Science and Planning (GEP), that is hosting the SFA Eswatini hub is under the Faculty of Science and Engineering of the University of Eswatini (Formerly the University of Swaziland). The University consist of three campuses, namely; Kwaluseni Campus (Faculties of Education, Humanities, Science and Engineering, and Social Sciences), Luyengo Campus (Faculties of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences) and Mbabane Campus (Faculty of Health Sciences).
The GEP Department strives to be a centre of academic excellence in both theory and application pertaining to in economic, urban and development geography, geo-information science, environmental social science, natural resource management, geomorphology and climate change. Its mission is to build a sound foundation for geography teaching in schools and to provide expertise, practical solutions and insight in the areas of land-use, spatial planning and the management of environmental resources through the spectrum of effective teaching, research, consultancy and community outreach.
Research in the department is founded on applying sound interdisciplinary principles and methodologically diverse scientific approaches relevant to both the natural and social sciences, in order to address key geographical and environmental questions. Much of our research has an applied and policy relevant focus applicable to a developing country context. With regards to the areas of focus, specific departmental research focus areas of the hugely diverse team include (but not exhaustive): urbanization and settlement patterns, agricultural geography, sustainability and food security, human and social geography, socio-economic analysis and surveys, climate science/modelling, climate change (adaptation and mitigation), land use and land cover change, environmental and spatial modelling, natural hazards and disasters, pure and applied wetland geomorphology (rehabilitation and management), soil erosion and land degradation (and appropriate rehabilitation), soil/land and water resources management, drainage basin studies, waste management.