ENERGY GLOBE
Guinea-Bissau

WINNER:
Galp Foundation in partnership with European Union, UCCLA (Union of Portuguese Language Capitals Cities), Guinean Government and the Municipality of Bissau

With the Project:
FUMUKABA

The Fumukaba project is replacing charcoal and firewood with butane gas for cooking in rural households of Guinea-Bissau. The project is promoting the energy transition from fossil fuels to sustainable sources of energy as a way of encouraging communities to adopt cleaner energy solutions. The kit is composed of a cookstove, butane gas and a butane bottle which is distributed to families in need. The beneficiaries pay a small amount for the purchase of the kit which will be refundable in a few years upon meeting the stipulated requirements.

INITIAL SITUATION

About 95% of the population living in Guinea-Bissau use firewood and charcoal for cooking and other energy needs due to lack of access to grid electricity. Due to poor financial conditions, both in urban centres and in rural areas of Guinea-Bissau, people overuse the polluting fuels to prepare food, which has a major negative impact on health and on the environment. Fumukaba was born with the aim of promoting the energy transition in Guinea-Bissau and encouraging the community to adopt cleaner energy solutions, in particular, in the outskirts of Bissau where families with less economic power live and where charcoal prices are highest.

SOLUTION

The Fumukaba project promotes the replacement of charcoal and firewood with butane gas for the preparation of food in households in Guinea-Bissau. The project will impact more than 25,000 households in Guinea- Bissau neighbourhoods (about 50% of families residing in the region). Fumakaba’s mission is to promote the energy transition and encourage communities to adopt cleaner energy solutions, particularly in the outskirts of Bissau, where most poor communities depend on the use of charcoal live.

INNOVATION

Although butane gas has many advantages compared to wood fuel, most families cannot afford the initial investment to obtain the stove, accessories, gas cylinder and the first gas load. As this is the biggest barrier to adopting this type of energy, families will be offered a full kit consisting of a stove, a burner and a 6 kg cylinder of butane gas, leaving them with just the cost of the cylinder deposit which they can pay later, when they return the cylinder.