In pictures

GSBot · April 22, 2010, 12:58pm

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47691000/jpg/_47691702_cnelson_dr_congo_stoves.012.jpgFuel-efficient stoves could save the lives of displaced women and help the environment in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, aid workers say.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47691000/jpg/_47691703_cnelson_dr_congo_stoves.002.jpgConflict has consigned hundreds of thousands of people to camps. The demand for firewood - to use as cooking fuel - is causing severe deforestation. And as trees are cut down, women venture into more dangerous areas.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47691000/jpg/_47691704_cnelson_dr_congo_stoves.003a.jpgIn a survey conducted in 2008 at the displacement camps, 90% of the women who took part said they had been harassed, raped or experienced violence while collecting firewood.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47691000/jpg/_47691705_cnelson_dr_congo_stoves.007.jpgFamilies typically need 6.8kg (15lb) of wood a day when cooking over an open fire. But daily firewood consumption can be reduced by up to 70% with inexpensive fuel-efficient stoves.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47691000/jpg/_47691706_cnelson_dr_congo_stoves.011.jpgThe stoves are built using bricks, metal and rocks. If 10,000 families use the stoves daily for a year, 12,775 tonnes of firewood would be saved and the deforestation of more than 600 acres would be avoided, says Mercy Corps.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47691000/jpg/_47691707_cnelson_dr_congo_stoves.005.jpgA group of Congolese women has learnt how to make biomass briquettes - a renewable energy source and an environmentally-friendly wood and charcoal substitute - to use with the stoves.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47691000/jpg/_47691708_cnelson_dr_congo_stoves.004.jpgThe women make them by mixing sawdust and waste with water, shaping them into blocks and then leaving them to dry in the sun.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47691000/jpg/_47691709_cnelson_dr_congo_stoves.006.jpgLocal materials are used to make the biomass briquettes and they are sold at prices cheaper than charcoal. This provides an income for those who make them while also reducing carbon emissions.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47691000/jpg/_47691710_cnelson_dr_congo_stoves.010.jpgKahindo, who has been threatened with rape while collecting firewood, says the stoves project has improved security for women like herself. And the money she earns making them allows her to buy food for her family.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47691000/jpg/_47691711_cnelson_dr_congo_stoves.013.jpgZabayo Clementine was one of the first to join the project in late 2008. She says the stove means she is safer than before as she has no need to leave the camp. [Pictures by Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps]

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