On Wednesday 29/03/2023, the Rural Development Inter-Diocesan Service (RDIS) held a staff meeting at it's headquarters in Muhanga city, which focussed mainly on the progress of the newly initiated project: “Improved Cookstoves Project in Rusizi”. The meeting, which was attended by all project staff, and chaired by the Executive Secretary, Mr Viateur Ntarindwa, provided an opportunity for reviewing the project's achievements, and challenges and also to identify areas for improvement.
Background:
The Improved Cookstoves Project is part of RDIS's and CANOPY ENERGY's effort to promote sustainable development in rural communities. In June 2022, CANOPY ENERGY engaged with RDIS to implement this carbon project in Rwanda. This company had previously worked with the Centre for Research in Energy and Energy Conservation (CREEC), which connected them to RDIS. After the initial discussions and agreements, the business plan, the budget, and the financial model for the project were elaborated together.
The project aims to reduce the reliance on traditional, inefficient cookstoves and promote the use of more efficient and environmentally friendly cook stoves. The project is being implemented in the Rusizi district of Rwanda, where most households still use traditional cook stoves.
Meeting Proceedings:
The meeting began with a presentation by the Executive Secretary of RDIS, Rev Viateur Ntarindwa, who thanked everyone for attending and gave an overview of the project's objectives. His presentation was on the project's history and achievements so far, including the number of households that have received improved cookstoves, and the already done stove tests.
This presentation was followed by an overview of upcoming project activities by the Project Manager Mr Vicent Minani. In his presentation, he mentioned all the ongoing and next steps of the project such as the purchase of 25,000 stove liners in the first year of project implementation, continuous tracking of stove use, training of more enumerators etc.
Next, the executive secretary of RDIS, Rev Viateur Ntarindwa presented a list of possible challenges to the project aiming at initiating a discussion innworking groups on ways to overcome them. These challenges included proper communication with beneficiaries so that, they are present on the day of installation, and they also prepare the kitchen and provide the required installation materials such as ash, clay and sand in time. Other possible challenges could be a lack of commitment by some staff members and a lack of awareness among some community members.
The meeting was concluded by the formation of smaller working groups to discuss the solutions to the mentioned challenges. Participants shared their own experiences and offered suggestions on how these challenges could be overcome. After that, the results were shared and discussed in a plenum. Participants expressed their support for the project and pledged to continue the work of RDIS to promote sustainable development in Rusizi.
Conclusion:
The meeting was very productive and informative: It provided an opportunity for responsible staff from all levels to review the progress of the Improved Cookstoves Project and to suggest ways of overcoming possible challenges. RDIS and its partners are committed to working together to ensure this carbon project succeeds and makes a substantial contribution to the sustainable development in rural communities of Rwanda.
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