- In an effort to promote safety and health,
After participating in a training program for the manufacture of eco stoves for a period of one and a half months, 45 women from the counties of Grand Cape Mount, Bomi, and Gbarpolu were awarded certificates of completion.
The training was put on by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), in collaboration with Green Gold Liberia, and with the assistance of UNDP Liberia’s Energy and Environment (E&E) Programme.
The effort is tied to the diversification of livelihoods as well as access to renewable energy sources in order to assist vulnerable populations, particularly women, youth, and persons with disabilities, in their pursuit of socio-economic inclusion.
It is also important for the successful implementation of Liberia’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which has as one of its targets the production of three hundred thousand (300,000) eco-stoves or energy efficient cook-stoves by the year 2030. This target is important for the successful implementation of Liberia’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
At the graduation ceremony that took place on July 9, 2022 in Tubmanburg, Bomi County, the Vice President, Jewel Howard Taylor, was the keynote speaker. She encouraged the graduates to put the training that they had received into practice, noting that the use of the eco-stove is important for environmental management and promotes good health, safety, and empowerment.
The Vice President of Liberia stressed that “this means that the quantity of wood and or charcoal used for cooking and heating will be reduced; you will have a safe cooking environment that keeps you healthy with less smoke that affects your eyes and lungs; and you will save more money to use for other essential things,” the Liberian Vice President emphasized. “This means that the quantity of wood and or charcoal used for cooking and heating will be reduced; you will have a safe cooking environment that keeps you healthy with less smoke that affects
She took advantage of the opportunity to officially dedicate a training center that had been constructed in Tubmanburg and was the location where the training took place. After the graduation ceremony, Green Gold Liberia handed over control of the center to the Bomi County Authority so that it can be used to manufacture environmentally friendly stoves for cooking. The Vice President made a request to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to build two new training facilities in the counties of Gbarpolu and Grand Capemount, respectively.
Mr. Wilson Tarpeh, Executive Director of the EPA, echoed the call made by the Vice President for the women to make full use of the skills that they have acquired. He added that the women have a responsibility to ensure that Liberia meets its NDC target of producing and using 300,000 clean cook stoves by the year 2030.
Professor Tarpeh informed the Vice President that the construction of the two training centers in the counties of Gbarpolu and Grand Cape Mount will be included in the annual work plan for the UNDP and the Government of Liberia for the year 2023.
Moses Massah, who is in charge of the Energy and Environment Portfolio, spoke on behalf of Stephen Rodriques, who is the UNDP Liberia Resident Representative. In his remarks, Moses Massah acknowledged the partnership with the EPA in the fight against an increase in the amount of emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG).
According to him, the use of traditional cookstoves has a negative effect not only on the health and well-being of low-income families but also on the natural environment. This is because the traditional cookstoves require the cutting down of trees for use as firewood and charcoal, which in turn leads to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
According to Massah, the use of cooking stoves that are efficient in terms of energy use “has the potential to reduce the demand for charcoal and firewood and will significantly help to halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems.”
He strongly encouraged the graduates to participate in the plan to revitalize the environment of Liberia. One of the ways that you can help is by continuing to do what you have been taught to do. “Our survival depends on healthy ecosystems; everyone needs to be part of the push.” Moses Massah made the observation that if you are successful in what you are doing, you will make a big contribution to the realization of Liberia’s NDC aim of reducing deforestation.
During the course of the program, the participants constructed 450 stoves that were more efficient with their use of energy. Each trainee will get, as part of a group, five of the energy-efficient stoves as a start-up for a small business company, in continuation of the manufacturing of the cookstoves; the remaining stoves will be given to communities that are particularly at risk.
It is believed that 95 percent of Liberia’s population relies on charcoal and firewood as their primary sources of energy for cooking and heating their homes. The primary causes of deforestation in Liberia are practices of production and consumption that are not compatible with long-term environmental health.
Only two percent of the world’s population is said to have access to clean fuels and cooking technologies, as stated in a report by the World Bank.
