Women in Darfur risk their safety to collect firewood.  By providing them with fuel-efficient stoves, the risk of violence is reduced.

Why we care: Girls and women in Darfur risk harassment, rape, and other violence to collect firewood to cook their meals.

How we’re solving this: Training 1,550 women to build, use and maintain fuel-efficient stoves as well as other livelihood skills.

Through its Safe Access to Firewood and Alternative Energy (SAFE) initiative, the World Food Programme (WFP) is implementing a training program focused on the protection and empowerment of women.  With an additional focus on protecting the environment, the project aims to achieve safe access to sustainable cooking options for the most vulnerable people in Darfur. By working with community-based organizations and women’s interest groups, WFP helps reduce the vulnerability and frequency of exposure to gender-based violence by diminishing the need for unsafe firewood collection thanks to fuel-efficient stoves and sustainable cooking fuel options.  We promote the creation of livelihoods to reduce the reliance of women on unsafe and unsustainable firewood collection through tree nursery and community forest projects. 

This project will train 1,550 women to build, use and maintain fuel-efficient stoves. The training will take place over seven days at SAFE initiative centers in Darfur.  The participants will learn about local environmental issues, basic stove technology and alternative fuel options in Darfur. During the training, participants will make a stove that they will take home with them.  Each trainee will also gain hands-on experience to maintain the stoves.

The training will also teach about ecofriendly agriculture livelihood techniques, nurseries and community forestry techniques. The women will be encouraged to establish nurseries and plant trees in their villages so women don’t have to walk far to collect firewood for household energy needs.

These women will also be trained on health, hygiene, childcare, nutrition and adult literacy. These trainings are expected to improve their and their families’ physical and psychological growth amidst the ongoing conflict. The participants will also be sensitized on local environmental issues and their link to the ongoing conflict and sustainable peace building solutions.

WFP will partner with community-based organization in Darfur to implement these activities. The Darfur staff costs will cover management, transportation, and salary costs.  This research and development costs will partly cover conducting socioeconomic baseline surveys and project evaluation, and will also be used to publish leaflets, training materials and reports on the project’s impact.

WFP will create awareness among communities and counterparts to explain the purpose and expected outcome of the activities to be carried out under this programme.  The communications activities will cover the cost of printing advertisements, handbills and leaflets for the SAFE program.  Indirect support costs included in the budget will cover a fixed rate resourced from all donor contributions, which is used to cover non-project overhead costs.

Thanks to the fuel-efficient stoves and livelihood interventions, women report numerous positive benefits including:

• Less time spent collecting firewood in unsafe territory;
• More time for child care and other productive activities;
• More income to spending on food items;
• Improved diet diversity and nutrition;
• Cleaner homes, fewer burn injuries, fewer smoke-related illnesses and ailments such as eye and chest infections, coughs, colds, and headaches; and
• Community involvement and skills training helps to empower women and build the resilience of communities.