Burundian cookstove producers trained by SNV Tanzania

The situation in Burundi has been unstable since President Nkurunziza's decision in April 2015 to run for a third term; since then more than 400 people were killed and 250,000 fled to neighbouring states(1). Furthermore, several western donors suspended direct financial aid to the Burundian government. The EnDev Burundi programme, which is implemented by GIZ, decided to evacuate international staff from the country. Improved cookstoves still form an important part of the EnDev Burundi programme. Despite the conflict in the country, people need to cook their meals and there is a clear demand for more efficient and cleaner cookstoves, especially in rural areas.

EnDev meeting in Kampala

The GIZ Burundi and SNV Tanzania cookstove teams met during an EnDev regional meeting in Kampala in April 2016. The Burundi team showed clear interest in the Tanzanian Matawi stove and ongoing communication ensured the dispatch of 20 Matawi stoves (10 metal cladded and 10 ceramic) to Bujumbura. EnDev Burundi provided the Matawi demonstration stoves to different households for testing and some were given to cookstove producers so they could copy them. After positive feedback from consumers (rural households), the team decided to train producers to ensure sufficient supply of the Matawi stoves in Burundi.

The training in Mwanza

Because of the situation in Burundi and the challenging working conditions for the local EnDev team, the technical training on Matawi stoves was organised in Mwanza, Tanzania, located only 250km from the Burundi border. The training took place in November 2016 and was facilitated by SNV/EnDev Tanzania’s Technical Lead Hassan Bussiga alongside ICS Champion producers Ms. Shigella and Mr. Magolla. It was a five-day intensive training of both practical sessions at producer Shigella’s house and theory at the SNV office. The nine training participants came from three locations in Burundi (Bujumbura, Gitega and Ngozi) and were driven to Mwanza with support from EnDev/GIZ Burundi. The training was given in Swahili and English and translated to Kirundi (the language of Burundi) where necessary.

The participants expressed their appreciation for the training and were eager to start producing Matawi stoves. As a reward for their dedication, all producers received a signed certificate of clean cooking excellence from the EnDev Tanzania team. Both EnDev teams agreed to stay in touch about follow up trainings and knowledge exchange.

(1) Source: BBC Website