Burundi innovator builds electric stove to cut charcoal dependence

A young Burundian innovator is turning to electric cooking to tackle the high cost of charcoal and growing pressure on the country’s forests.

Timothee Nicoyangereye and his team in Bujumbura are producing locally made electric stoves designed as an alternative to wood and charcoal, the main cooking fuels used by most households in Burundi.

The appliances feature adjustable electronic controls that allow users to regulate cooking and programme the stove to switch off automatically.

For households already using the cooker, the potential savings are a major attraction.

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"The biggest advantage I see is that that bag [of charcoal] lasts for a month, it doesn't get used up easily. This means that you can cook even beyond that, and even if you cook a lot, you might find it takes around thirty, thirty-five [thousand francs] in a month, and it is clean," one user said.

Nicoyangereye, an entrepreneur from Gitega, developed the smart electric cooker as a cheaper and cleaner alternative to traditional cooking fuels.

He believes wider adoption could also help reduce the number of trees cut down for charcoal production.

"I would say that we need many of these so that people can ease the burden of charcoal, and that way environmental consequences are addressed; trees won't be cut down again to make charcoal, because this improved stove itself costs very little money," Nicoyangereye said.

More than 90 percent of Burundi's population relies on firewood or charcoal for cooking, increasing pressure on forests while leaving households exposed to rising fuel costs.

Nicoyangereye's cooker is among several locally developed alternatives seeking to reduce the country's dependence on wood-based cooking fuels.