International Rescue Committee UK

Fuel-efficient cooking techniques assist displaced Pakistanis

16 September 2009

By Peter Biro

The IRC has trained some 7,000 displaced Pakistanis in the Jalozai camp near Peshawar in fuel-efficient cooking, which has helped families free up much-needed household income. The programme has also helped protect women and children who normally spend a significant amount of time daily collecting firewood from the areas surrounding the camps, making them vulnerable to assault.

Under the pilot programme, funded by the US Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), the IRC organises workshops where displaced men and women from the conflict-affected agencies of Bajaur and Mohmand learn to use fuel-efficient stoves and techniques such as using a rock to keep the lid of a pot on or drying moist wood near the fire prior to using it. And a mere two months into the six-month programme there are some surprising results according to Waqas Halim, the IRC's water and sanitation coordinator in Pakistan.

"Given prevailing cultural norms, we expected that, while men would participate, they might not be especially engaged since the kitchen is outside their traditional domain," Halim said. "In fact, male participation is significantly higher than we expected. The men's workshops last much longer than the women's training sessions because there are so many questions."

Abdul Haseeb, the IRC's senior coordinator for humanitarian response in Pakistan, added that the IRC also conducted a series of focus groups with men and women to design a portable, easy-to-use and fuel efficient stove, which the IRC is now procuring.

According to an IRC survey last May, typical displaced families in Pakistan spend almost 10 per cent of their meager household income on fuel. As a result, people, including children, scavenge fuel – including brush, plastic bags and other trash – rather than purchase firewood at the local rate. Abdul Haseeb said that this has led to tension between the displaced and the host community, and has kept children out of school.