Sustainable Energy
The Challenge of Sustainable Energy in Guinea-Bissau
In Guinea-Bissau, about 95% of the resident population uses wood and charcoal for cooking and other energy needs, due to the low production of electricity and virtual non-existence of the supply and regular use of butane gas, both in urban centres and in rural areas.
FUMUKABA was born with the aim of promoting the energy transition in Guinea-Bissau and encouraging the community to adopt cleaner energy solutions, in particular, in the outskirts of Bissau where families with less economic power live and where charcoal prices are highest.
The baseline study also reveals that there is excessive use of charcoal and firewood in food preparation in Bissau, impacting health and the environment. It is therefore necessary to adopt assertive measures to reverse the situation.
Thus, Fumukaba also aims to adopt a solution that allows the country to preserve the forest by stimulating the increasing the use of butane gas as an alternative to the traditional use of charcoal.
Although the many advantages of butane gas are recognised, most families cannot afford the initial investment in the stove, accessories, gas cylinder deposit and the first gas load. As this is the biggest barrier to adopting this type of energy, families will be offered a kit consisting of a stove, a burner and a 6kg cylinder of butane gas, leaving them with just the cost of the cylinder deposit (11,500 CFA) to pay. Later, when they return the cylinder, they can get that money back.
The price of bottled gas - regulated by the Guinea- Bissau government - is competitive against the cost of a bag of quality charcoal in Bissau, allowing for the continued use of gas. The project's goal is to reach some 25,000 Bissau households (approximately 220,000 inhabitants). Among these, 100 families will be subject to a regular follow-up process throughout the project, so that the impacts of the Fumukaba project are monitored.