Faith Matters - Caring for Creation - Climate Protection in Rwanda

Despite widespread poverty and the current corona pandemic Rwandans are doing everything they can to protect the climate — or "care for Creation”, as Christians say. One striking example is a pilot project promoting high efficiency kitchen stoves amongst Rwandan families. These eco-friendly stoves reduce wood consumption by 60 percent compared to traditional cooking fires. This in turn reduces CO2 emissions by 60 percent and has a positive effect on forests, whereas deforestation leads to catastrophic soil erosion. Rwanda’s kitchen stove initiative is highly relevant, since 80 percent of all Rwandan families currently cook on an open fire. The reduction of greenhouse gases and smoke is already benefiting public health in the country. Cooking is mainly done by women in Rwanda, and in rural clinics doctors are discovering that women who own one of these high efficiency stoves are considerably less likely to develop eye infections and respiratory diseases. In "caring for Creation” Rwandans are protecting the climate, improving their health, and fighting poverty at the same time.