Last week, about 46 participants from different organization and institutes came together to attended a workshop entitled “Developing Clean Cooking Solutions in Vietnam”.

At the workshop. (Source: SNV)

Representatives from the Canadian and Dutch Embassies, the Environmental Protection Agency from Hanoi, nine stove producers active in Vietnam; Vietnam Women’s Union, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, non-governmental organizations.

The workshop highlighted three years of experiences in Vietnam, under the innovative programme called "Market Acceleration Clean Cookstoves in Cooking Solutions (ACCS) in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region" 2016-2018 taking place in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

In Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, over 65 million people still cook on traditional biomass stoves that contribute to local natural resource degradation and generate significant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions and smoke that pollute kitchens and the ambient air.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), no less than 60,000 people die each year in these countries as a consequence of inhaling smoke from cooking – a number close to the amount of deaths caused by diarrhoea, malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis combined. This health-hazard can be drastically reduced by advanced biomass cookstoves that are cleaner, more energy efficient and safer than traditional stoves.

The "Market Acceleration of Advanced Clean Cookstoves in the Greater Mekong Sub-region" project is implemented by GIZ and SNV under the global multi-donor Energising Development (EnDev) partnership. It aims to start a sustainable market for clean smokeless cookstoves through the sales of 120,000 devices in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam during 2016-2018. The project employs an innovative Results Based Finance (RBF) scheme that strengthens the involvement of supply chain actors in the nascent market of advanced clean cookstoves.

One of the innovations of this programme was the introduction of a Results Based Finance mechanism that provided cash incentives to the private sector per verified sale. This resulted successfully in the sales of more than 30,000 clean stoves, and enabled four enterprises to grow their businesses.

Another result of the programme, was that by imposing performance standards, the stoves’ designs and materials improved.

During the workshop, three producers (CCBM, Solar Serve, GreenGen) explained their view on the last years of RBF experience.

At the end of the workshop, the Q&A session brought a large variety of interesting questions, comments and suggestion from all participants.

Vu Thi Nhan, a farmer in Dai Thang commune, Phu Xuyen district, Hanoi uses clean cookstoves that drastically reduce the smoke levels. (Source: SNV)

Alison Rusinow, Country Director for SNV Vietnam, shared the ACCS project aims to increase access to efficient cooking solutions and fuels in rural and urban households, thereby addressing indoor air pollution and fuel needs. This is done through replacing inefficient traditional stoves and cooking practices with advanced cooking solutions to reduce biomass fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

The majority of people living in the countryside of Vietnam rely on inefficient cookstoves for daily cooking. The exposure to smoke poses significant health risks, particularly for women and children. Considering that households spend more than two hours a day cooking, health hazards are ever so likely.

SNV is committed to continue its work, and will adjust its strategy according to the important feedback we received in this workshop to achieve sustainable development around the world, she added./.

VNF