Indoor Air Pollution accounts for as much as four percent (4%) of the global disease burden. With the support of the Shell Foundation, EWW will work in Ghana to alleviate this problem through its “Breathe Easy” campaign to promote clean energy for cooking. The grant, worth $350,000 over three years, will be used to reach 45,000 households, and will complement EWW’s current USAID-funded household energy program.

EWW and its partners – Ghana’s Renewable Energy Unit of the Ministry of Energy and its Environmental Protection Agency – will target Indoor Air Pollution by promoting a range of affordable, clean-burning cooking stoves. The team will train local manufacturers to produce stoves and stove components at a cost that is affordable to consumers and provides enough profit to support a sustainable supply chain.

EWW will direct an education campaign instructing heads of household, predominantly women, on the dangers of Indoor Air Pollution and introducing simple, low, or no-cost techniques to reduce it. In addition, EWW will implement an aggressive marketing strategy, with the goal of increasing product awareness and encouraging new manufacturers and retailers to invest in the industry.

EWW’s existing household energy program, focused on training small Ghanaian businesses to build and sell ceramic-lined cookstoves that use up to 50% less charcoal than traditional models has already been a success. Since April 2002, EWW has trained 44 manufacturers and engaged in intensive marketing efforts, resulting in 18,000 stoves sold, thousands of hectares of forest spared, and thousands of dollars saved for consumers.

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