A day's demonstration of prototype improved Rocket and Mayon cooking stoves usage, has recently ended in Salikene in the Central Baddibu District of North Bank Region (NBR).

The demonstration is part of series of training programmes organised by the Gaining Ground in Gambia and Senegal (GGIGS) project to increase the level of awareness of women and households on the importance and use of stove and its impact on the environment.
Speaking to the Daily Observer during the demonstration process in Salikene, the project manager of Gaining Ground in Gambia and Senegal (GGIGS), Mama Manneh, asserted the need for concerted efforts of all and sundry to  partner with government in protecting and preserving the natural vegetation cover.

Manneh noted that the demonstration is aimed at empowering women and household heads to use the stoves as an alternative way to reduce labour burden on women, who do collect huge quantity of fuel wood. He noted that many women at the villages travel about 4km away from human settlements in search of wood for cooking. "The Mayon stove uses peanut shell and rice husk, whilst Rocket stove uses both firewood and millet husk. The installation of these stoves will reduce the use of fuel wood for household cooking; thus switching from burning non-renewable biomass to renewable biomass, and reducing deforestation," he revealed. He therefore challenged men to be very supportive in this laudable initiative so as to purchase stoves, to safe money, improve women’s health, timely meal preparation and to enable them invest in meaningful ventures. 

Speaking at the occasion, the head chief of Central Baddibu, Momodou Kenda Dibba, commended the Njawara Agricultural Training Center and its partners for complementing government's efforts in addressing and protecting the forest from depletion and soil erosion. He said the items would significantly help to consolidate peace in the households, as food would always be ready on time. The district chief used the opportunity to call on household heads in the area to improve stoves for women, as wood is scarce and women continue to travel long distance to fetch it. He assured that women and men of Salikene would serve as role models for the project by ensuring that the forest and the environment are protected and improved.

Haddy Faal Nying, the stove coordinator of GGIGS project at Njawara Agricultural Training Center, emphasised the need for households to support their families to have access to the stoves, noting that the stoves would reduce carbon emission whilst cooking and would contribute to improve the health of women and girls. She said the project would continue to subsidise the cost of stoves to make it easily affordable - from D460 per stove to D365 for Rocket stove and D275 for Mayon Stove. She promised that the project would create easy market for women.

The officer-in-charge of Salikene Health Center, Sulayman Sanneh, also re-iterated that the stoves would immensely improve the health status of women and girls. He then observed that the smoke generated whilst cooking serves as a health hazard on women; but that with the advent of the improved stoves it would also contribute to creating conducive environment, as most local materials left at the backjyards can be used for cooking e.g. rice husk, groundnut hay, coos stalk at a lesser time. Jarra Camara and Hina Trawally of Salikene spoke on behalf of beneficiaries.