When we arrived in the Maasai village, we were taken to a traditional boma (homestead) with an open-fire stove and welcomed inside. The air was thick with smoke and it immediately overwhelmed us. Our guide suggested we crouch closer to the ground, where it would be easier to breath but it didn’t really help. One member of our group had to step outside.
This small, circular hut houses an entire family; it’s where they eat and sleep. It was hard to imagine how anyone could spend a minute in there, let alone day in, day out, over a lifetime.
The indoor smoke from open-fire stoves is a major global heath risk, causing cancer, emphysema, pneumonia, burns and blindness. 4 million people die each year due to exposure to cookstove smoke.
In Tanzania, 95% of people rely on cooking with wood and coal. As women are the primary homemakers, spending time indoors cooking meals for their families, they are disproportionately impacted by the exposure.
The Clean Cookstove Project works to replace hazardous open-fire stoves with clean-burning ones. Teams of all-women engineers install the smoke-removing and efficient wood burning chimney stoves, removing 90% of the indoor smoke pollution.
During our visit to the Maasai village in the Monduli District of Tanzania, I was able to witness the benefits of the project.
After the boma with an open-fire stove, we were invited into one with a new clean-burning one. The difference was immediately apparent and the benefits of the project couldn’t have been made any clearer to us. The air was breathable and our eyes stopped watering.
Engineers work on the installation of a new clean-burning stove.
We then observed the project engineers in action, as they built a stove in a neighboring boma. Built primarily with bricks and clay mortar, the design allows smoke escape through the roof. A basic and simple design, with tremendously beneficial impacts for families.
Our guide for the village visit
There were a couple of things that struck me most about this visit.
One was how a major heath issue could be tackled with a relatively simple, affordable solution, debunking any notion that it takes major funds or ideas to solve the world’s problems.
Second, that local, grassroots efforts are truly critical in bringing these solutions to life. For these projects to be successful, they must be framed within local cultural norms and traditional beliefs and practices. Applying a Western approach without considering local realities doesn’t work.
In this case, the Maasai are able to continue living a traditional way of life while realizing significant health benefits through the improved air quality within the boma.
During our visit, we witnessed the birth of a baby goat. Livestock, including goats, are a primary source of income for the Maasai people
For more information, visit the following sites:
https://planeterra.org/what-we-do/our-projects/maasai-clean-cookstoves-tour/
https://boblange.wpengine.com/about-us/
Photographs taken in the Monduli District of Tanzania. September, 2016