2.8 billion people still cook over an open fire with firewood and charcoal. And around the world, more people die because of smoke from cooking than from malaria, tuberculosis, and AIDS combined. Furthermore, the climate impact of charcoal and firewood burned for cooking is as great as that of the entire aviation industry. At Lund-based Emerging Cooking Solutions, we tackle these problems through our operations in Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique (under the name ‘SupaMoto’), where we have been working for healthier and cleaner cooking since 2013. 

We have developed a pellet stove – which now has internet connectivity – and integrated operations for local pellet production, distribution, customer financing, and carbon credits. Our stove was recently cited in the journal Nature as one of two pellet stoves in the world that meet the health requirements for ‘modern cooking’. Each stove saves approximately 3.5 tonnes of CO2 per year. The pellet production utilises surplus biomass and is therefore renewable and both environmentally and economically sustainable. We can proudly state that our integrated cooking solution curtails deforestation and develops the national economy. It also saves time and improves both the health and household finances of its users.

Our business model is to lend the stoves at no cost to people in vulnerable urban and rural areas, provided they buy our pellets, which, in addition to being environmentally friendly and healthier, are 50% cheaper than charcoal.