Green Gold Liberia with support from UNDP Liberia in partnership with the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) graduates 46 women from Bong, Margibi, and Grand Bassa counties following the completion of its 3rd cycle of the Eco stove production training.

The training is important for the successful implementation of Liberia’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and the focus of the training on women is very strategic. Liberia’s NDC has a target to produce 300,000 (three hundred thousand) eco-stoves or energy-efficient cook-stoves by 2030. 

The use of energy-efficient cook stoves which has the potential to reduce the demand for charcoal and firewood will significantly help to halt and reverse the degradation of Liberia’s ecosystems.

Speaking at the graduation program on August 4, 2023, UNDP Liberia Resident Representative a.i. Louis Kuukpen reiterated that eco-stoves or energy-efficient cook stoves are very important for environmental management, curbing deforestation, as well as promoting safety and good health in the kitchen where women dominate. 

Kuukpen noted that the use of cook stoves reduces the quantity of wood and or charcoal used for cooking and heating, allowing for a safe cooking environment, promoting good health in the kitchen with less carbon emission, reducing smoke and impacts on eyes and lungs as well as safe time and money.

“We all depend on healthy ecosystems for our survival. This means a sustainable interaction between living organisms - plants, animals, and people - with their surroundings. This includes nature, but also human-made systems such as cities or farms,” he added.

The UNDP Liberia Acting Resident Representative reminded the graduates that as ambassadors of a green environment, they are not just producing and selling energy-efficient stoves for livelihoods but see themselves as playing a very important role in Liberia’s conservation efforts. 

“As our survivals depend on healthy ecosystems, we all need to partake in the ecosystem restoration drive. One of the ways is what you have been trained to do. If you do it well, you will be significantly contributing to the achievement of Liberia’s NDC target of producing 300,000 cook stoves and reducing deforestation,” Kuukpen stressed.

The Guest Speaker John F. Kannah of the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) mentioned that women play a pivotal role in combatting the adverse effects of deforestation on Liberia’s ecosystem. Kannah said relying on traditional methods of cooking poses serious risks to women’s health and well-being.

He urged the graduates to use the training to inspire others to reduce pollution and to see themselves as agents of change and torchbearers helping Liberia to fulfill its NDCs goals and commitments.

“You are a powerful group of change-makers and the epitome of resilience. The collective efforts to support and empower each other by transferring knowledge from the training will greatly help Liberia in its journey towards achieving clean energy,” the EPA NDC Coordinator said. 

The women were trained to produce 10 Eco-stoves each in the period of 8 weeks totaling 460 Eco-stoves. 

Each trainee takes home 5 Eco-stoves as a start-up SME kit and is grouped into fives as a cooperative to start their small business. 

Since the start of the training in 2021, a total of hundred and eleven (111) women from 7 counties have been trained over a period of 3 years to produce over one thousand (1,110) Eco stoves.

Twenty pieces of cook stoves were given to People with Disabilities (PWDs).