It’s not all fun and games though out here. The seemingly never-ending conflict in Somalia has seen the population of Dadaab’s 3 camps rise to over 260,000 individuals (approximately 4500 arriving per month since Jan 2010). The majority of these refugees are Somali, but you also have Ethiopians, Eritreans, Sudanese and other nationalities living in these camps. Shelter and cooking fuel are a major problem out here. This being a semi arid area, twigs (for shelter) and firewood (for cooking) are quite scarce.
Therefore, anything that reduces firewood consumption is an essential part of the Dadaab Refugee operation. ILF’s rocket stove helps save 30% of firewood usage compared to the open (3 stone) fire the refugees initially used. I oversee this project out here and have 15 staff in Hagadera camp and another 10 in Ifo camp. All our staff are refugees, working for us under the ‘incentive worker’ program.
Some of the biggest pluses of my job is that I get to go out into the refugee blocks and mix and mingle with the refugees to get their reactions to our stoves, hear their stories, take walks into the camp markets and hang out with the kids in the blocks.
One of my biggest highlights was seeing a lady who used our stoves to make ‘samosas’ that she then sold in the market. She was quite pleased with our stove, and said it improved her profit margins, as she now spent less on buying firewood.
I’m really glad to have gotten this opportunity to work out here, see this highly unique situation /station (there’s no way to really explain this place to anyone who hasn’t been here themselves!) and be part of a project that is not only helping conserve the environment, but also helping the refugees help themselves.
Jason Monteiro
Environmental Program Officer
Dadaab, Kenya
This is touching and a real show of selflessness and concern for others and our environment...what better way to do it...kudos!
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