Kilimanjaro: Environment & Health sustainability

Environmental sustainability is a project which has been implemented around this area for the past three years. The community is sharing boarder with the forest around Mount Kilimanjaro and there is a big dependency on this important conserved forest. Majority of the communities living around the sloops are usually work in agriculture growing mostly coffee, bananas and other food crops. A big number of families still have traditionally cooked their meals on the ground in the house over an open flame. As a traditional house usually has only one room, the whole house is filled with smoke before and after meals. The smoke is thick and stays in the house as only a little hole in the roof allows for ventilation. As a result, acute respiratory and eye diseases are a significant problem for women and children. Additionally, this traditional form of cooking requires large amounts of firewood, which puts pressure on the Mount Kilimanjaro forest and is thus a major contributor to climate change. This project is therefore working towards initiatives to reduce pressure to the forest through promotion of healthy and energy serve stoves.