Awareness workshop in Gogonya Village. ©Jjemba Bonny (May 2024).

In response to the problem, we conducted a survey in Kitenga, and identified the introduction of improved cook stoves as the most sustainable solution. And the Rocket Lorena Stove was the most applicable in this community because it has a simple design and affordable to the local people since it is made from locally available materials. The Rocket Lorena is a two pot rest stove with an efficient combustion chamber that saves 50 to 70% of energy compared to the traditional three stone stove (GTZ Uganda, 2006). Previous studies show that improved cook stoves such as the Rocket Lorena reduce the consumption of fuelwood (Ahmed & Iqbal, 2018). If a significant number of people in Kitenga adopt this stove, there will be reduction in deforestation.

Therefore, this project is aimed at improvement of forest conservation in Kitenga through; (a) dissemination of forest conservation knowledge among the local people and school children; (b) introduction of Rocket Lorena Stoves in the community; and (c) extension of farmer-managed natural regeneration to different parts of Kitenga.

This project will contribute to; (a) reduction of harmful anthropogenic activities that lead to deforestation and environment degradation through awareness creation; (b) reduction of fuelwood consumption and deforestation in Kitenga through Lorena stoves; and (c) the goal of the Bonn Challenge of restoring 350 million hectares of degraded and deforested landscapes by 2030 through farmer-managed natural regeneration.

At the end of this project, we are going to compare the quantity of fuelwood consumed per month by households of adopters and non-adopters of the Rocket Lorena stoves. This will generate a clear picture on the amount of fuelwood saved while using the Lorena stove and its contribution towards the reduction of deforestation. This information will act as a baseline for future research on forest conservation using improved cook stoves.