Despite its natural riches, Uganda is one of the poorer countries in Africa.
More than 40% of the population lives below the absolute poverty line,
with more than 70% working in agriculture. Of these, most are smallhol-
ders and engage in subsistence farming.

In the West-Nile and Central-North regions, the poverty rate is also sig-
nificantly higher than the national average. In addition, about 1 million
refugees have settled there permanently as a result of the civil war in
South Sudan. This has further worsened employment and income oppor-
tunities for the population and increased pressure on the environment,
land ownership and energy supply.

Most rural households in Africa cook their food with locally collected fire-
wood or other combustible natural materials. Mostly, the cooking facilities
consist of three stones on the mud floor of simple houses, where the fire
is lit in between and a pot is placed on top. There is no chimney, and
the smoke gradually spreads through the house, affecting the health of
women and children. The combustion efficiency of the «three-stone co-
oker» is extremely limited. Therefore, more and more firewood is needed,
resulting in excessive deforestation.

The small cooking-stoves (Jikos) introduced in East Africa a few years
ago use only charcoal as fuel. Although they are more energy-efficient
than the «three-stone cookers», the burning of charcoal poses a great
danger to the forests. Moreover, charcoal is becoming increasingly
expensive for the local population. Jikos might be suitable for urban areas
where local firewood is not available, but certainly not in rural areas.