Global HearthWorks is an investor in, EcoZoom. Their charter fits hand-in-glove with our charter. By working with Commercial, Development and Relief entities EcoZoom is putting clean cookstove technology into the hands of the people who most need it, while also making a positive impact on their health, incomes and their environment.
About EcoZoom*
At EcoZoom we believe that all people should have access to beautifully designed products that will improve their health, income and environment. We sell improved cookstoves and solar powered lighting which include other benefits like phone charging and radio. EcoZoom stoves reduce smoke emissions by up to 70% while reducing fuel usage by up to 60%. Over the lifetime of a stove, families can save between $300 and $1000, depending on what fuel they use. Less toxic smoke is inhaled by cooks, fewer natural resources are depleted and less family income is spent on fuel. Over the lifetime of one stove, it can save 30 to 40 trees and 12 to 15 tons of carbon dioxide!
EcoZoom works with NGOs, governments, aid organizations and local businesses and entrepreneurs who want to put stoves into the hands of people who need them. We group our customers to three segments:
Commercial: In some places cookstoves can sell for a profit throughout a sustainable value chain and create recurring revenue opportunities for manufacturers and distributors. End consumers purchase a cookstove outright or purchase a cookstove with end-user financing. This market may or may not use carbon financing, but does not depend on carbon financing. Examples of the people we work with are micro-finance institutions and community banks i.e. Equity Bank in Kenya.
Development: Cookstove markets are just getting started in many areas and must be fostered to grow into a commercial market. The value of a cookstove to a family is not well known, price elasticity of demand is quite small and we compete for end user purchases with mobile phones or other technologies. Cookstove samples and subsidized stoves can help generate a thriving cookstove market. In some cases, stove donations or subsidies can break the poverty trap of spending a high amount of time or income on fuel, and demonstrate the value that an improved cookstove has to health and prosperity. Examples of organisations we work with (typically commercial development NGOs), are Livelyhoods, Living Goods and Care International.
Relief: There are millions of people living in poverty and in Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps. Cooking in these camps is often dangerous as many three stone fires are in close proximity and can put a strain on natural resources. Relief organizations target these end users with improved cookstoves to provide health, safety and environmental relief. For example, a focus of the United Nations is to improve energy poverty in camps and reduce the huge impact on the natural environment that surrounds them. Some organizations we have worked with include the World Food Programme, the and Relief International.
* Text and images provided by EcoZoom.com