The Biomass Initiative for Africa (BEIA) is an initiative of the World Bank Africa Energy Group (AFTEG) funded by the Energy Sector Management Program (ESMAP), the Africa Renewable Energy Access (AFREA) financed by the World Bank and Government of Netherlands.
The BEIA project had five initiative themes covered in nine projects that are run across different countries in the African continent. The main objective of BEIA for this Africa project was to enhance market conditions for high efficiency and high energy saving cookstoves in the African continent.The MWOTO was designed by CREEC together with Professor Anderson from USA from the 2008 champion stove model. It was first introduced to the Ugandan market in September 2011 and the project is targeting tinsmiths and people who use biomass as a fuel to cook.
The MWOTO cookstove was developed within the ‘Promoting Improved Top-Lit Updraft (TLUD) Cookstoves in Uganda” project by CREEC. It’s one of the Biomass Energy Initiative for Africa (BEIA) projects running all over Africa. This stove is a TLUD and this means that it’s lit from above with high energy and high efficiency capabilities. The stove burns efficiently and cleanly that is why its recommended for both household and institutional use.
As a stove made out of steel, MWOTO has proven it’s self in laboratories, pilot studies and in market places to be very economical and powerful as a biomass cookstove. About 80 tinsmiths have been trained by CREEC to manufacture this stove in the districts of Mbale, Arua, Wakiso and Kawempe, Nakawa, Entebbe and Kisenyi divisions of Kampala. These tinsmiths have produced over 2000 MWOTO cookstoves since September last year and more people are expected to embrace this innovation with time.