CEFEMAC celebrates World Environment Day in Bamenda

CEFEMAC was part of celebrations to mark the World Environment Day on the 5th of June in Bamenda. This years celebration in the North West Region of Cameroon was done with the distinguished patronage of the Governor of the North West Region and the Delegation of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development. The 2013 Edition of the World Environment Day was themed “Think. East. Save. Reduce your Food Print” highlighting food wastage around the world. 

Think.Eat.Save is an anti-food waste and food loss campaign that encourages you to reduce your foodprint. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), every year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted. This is equivalent to the same amount produced in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, 1 in every 7 people in the world go to bed hungry and more than 20,000 children under the age of 5 die daily from hunger (UNEP, 2013).

As food preparation is key to healthy eating, CEFEMAC also demonstrated the M-5000 clean cook stoves to a very enthusiastic of important elites of the Region and the general public.

Happy Mothers Day to all Mums of the World especially in Cameroon

Once in a year we get to commemorate mothers and the special role in play in our society. We want to wish all mothers across the globe, especially in Cameroon a happy mothers day! What joy and inspiration they bring to our society and communities. Mothers are special and that is why they deserve the best and finest on this planet.

Everyday across the globe, billions of mothers and their babies endure the inhalation of at times toxic fumes from cooking using traditional stoves and biomass as source of fuel. Mothers suffer the most due to their exposure to soot during cooking. Our strategic partner Envirofit International is ‘making the world a fit place for humanity’ by engineering innovative solutions that reduce in door air pollution by 80% and reduce firewood consumption. Mothers using the M-5000 Improved Cook Stove for example, inhale 80% less smoke during cooking, spend less time for cooking and also save money from reduced expenditure on firewood or travel less every week to fetch for firewood.

CEFEMAC and its project partner Bofas Sarl in Cameroon are proud to be part of a cause to catalyse the adoption of 100 Million clean cook stoves by 2020 across the globe. We are proud to say that over 1,000 mothers in Cameroon today are benefiting from the use of Envirofits M-5000 technology within the framework of the Cameroon Improved Cook Stove Programme (CiCP) being implemented by CEFEMAC in Cameroon on behalf of Envirofit International. We continue to reach out to various corners of the North West Region and are scaling up and getting ready to cover the national territory with new distributors approaching CEFEMAC for new distribution channels and the appointment of a new National Business Development Manager to be unveiled tomorrow.

We are going further one step and will be sponsoring up to 10 M-5000 stoves to “Mami Achombos” (Road side food vendors who are mothers) across Bamenda and Bafoussam in Cameroon to say thank you to Mothers and to say they deserve the best.

Watch out for our first of many newsletters outlining our achievements to date as we continue to Pioneer Sustainable Solutions that empower communities.

Happy Mothers Day to All.

Cameroon Improved Cook Stove Programme Team

Second Consignment of M-5000 clean cook stoves and skirts arrive Bamenda

The second consignment of Envirofit’s M-5000 clean cook stoves arrived Bamenda last week. It includes the stove skirts which we promised to those who bought stoves from our first consignment. We will be developing a plan to distribute the skirts as promised over the next couple of weeks.

To expand our reach and development of new markets outside Bamenda and to cover Littoral, West and Centre Regions for our portfolio of products including M-5000 stoves, institutional stoves, solar lamps and Septic Digest, Cefemac is recruiting an experienced Business Development Manager.

We are also searching for distributors who will champion our portfolio of products within these Regions. Interested persons are requested to drop an email to sales@cefemac.org.

Fueling the clean cook stove market Part 2 of 3

I am now sat on a 13 hour flight back to the UK from Phnom Penh. My legs hurt, I feel like I need a 24 hr foot massage, I feel tired, worn out and exhausted, but never have I felt more inspired. Inspired by the work of the many pioneers I have meet within the clean cook stove sector ; the dedication to the cause, the selfless sacrifice and inexplicable passion I experienced from the many social entrepreneurs I had the privilege of meeting!

My thanks first of all goes to the Global Alliance for cook stoves for making it possible that I attend the CCForum 2013. It was an opportunity that will certainly change my life with respect to the confirmation and validation of the fact that I am not alone in my quest towards lasting change albeit within the confines of what I can achieve and within the context of reality relative to place and time.

I want to thank my wife and partner Stefanie for the unwavering support, in believing in me and sticking with me to the bitter end despite the obvious challenges. To my partner in crime Alfred Jato for his believe and trust and to Mr Talla Godlove of Bofas Sarl for believing in the cause considered insane by most. Special thanks to the staff of Cefemac and Sales Agents from Bofas for their commitment, believe and support even to the extent of accepting a pay cut to further the vision of contributing towards the noble cause of providing a clean cook stove to every household in Cameroon. Without you, all this will never have been possible!

I must say well done to the Global Alliance staff for well organised conference filled with inspiring and information on the key issues affecting the clean cook stove crusade. It was a great honour to meet Jacob Moss of the US State Department and to see his drive in fueling the propulsion of the Global Alliance. It was such an inspiration to meet the brain child of Toyola Stoves from Ghana especially! Suraj I will say it again, that it was truely an honour to share ride with you.

We will surely explore avenues to fuel the cook stove market in West Africa. The well respected Fred Colgan called it the next gold rush. That was funny Fred and as I said I will be checking out your institutional stoves in Cameroon. My good friend Femi called it an opportunity and mentioned his blue ocean strategy as we shared a tuk-tuk to the market. Femi it was great to get to meet you and I bought your stove because I believed in it and will try it out in Cameroon.

All in all, a great week, loads of take-aways and food-for-thought but most importantly the lessons learnt, experience from others especially candid failure and success stories did it all for me. The enthusiasm I felt from all the over 150 participants I talked to, gave me hope that fueling the market is now a collective endeavour driven by passionate individuals and Organisations who share the same vision of capitalizing on the opportunity to save lives through efficient cooking technologies. Mankind has been cooking for millions of years but the urgency of ensuring that they use technology that is clean and more efficient has never been so urgent considering the eminent squeeze on natural resources catalysed by rapid population growth especially in those areas where the use of biomass for cooking will continue to rise. Fueling the market with innovative strategies, capacity building and concerted efforts will certainly help to promote the adoption of clean cooking solutions. I am thankful to the Global Alliance for Clean Cook Stoves for the platform they are using to ignite change in attitudes and fuel the market and most importantly catalyse the sparking of adoption which we would explore in the last Part 3 of the notes from Phnom Pehn.

Igniting Change – CC Global Forum 2013 – Part 1 of 3

It’s been very hectic and exciting at the same time. Cefemac is truely honored to be amongst hundred of global clean cook solution ambassadors who have come together to share experiences and discuss strategies in scaling up the mission of the Alliance to affect the lives of 100 million people by 2020.

The challenge is huge but I am really impressed by the amount of research out there on the social aspects affecting the adoption of efficient burning cook stoves especially. It is clear that market based approaches when integrated with National Programmes can spark innovation and not inhibit local manufacturing endeavours as our Government in Cameroon seem to think. Met with US State Department representative, GIZ, SNV and a number of internationally influential bodies to highlight the constraints Cefemac is encountering with the high import duties. Surely we may be able to collaborate effectively to facilitate policy change. Cefemac will leave Phnom Pehn with a formal mandate to create an Alliance of clean cook solutions in Cameroon to spark change in the adoption of clean cook stoves in Cameroon.

Global Alliance for Clean Cook Stoves Forum 2013

CEFEMAC continues to expand its distribution network in Cameroon with plans to start distribution in Yaounde, Douala and Bafouassam. We continue to change many lives through the distribution of Envirofits M-5000 firewood Stove despite the enormous challenges faced on the ground especially from Government Policy.

This week our CEO and Chairman Venan Sondo is in Phnom Pehn in Cambodia attending the Global Alliance Forum 2013. He will be sending updates about the event and the strategic contacts forged to catalyst the vision of Cefemac across Cameroon.

Bamenda rocking to the sound of the M-5000, more updates to come…..

The M-5000 from Envirofit International Arrive their Final Destination in Bamenda

The M-5000 cook stoves from Envirofit International arrived their final destination in Bamenda, Cameroon at last. It has been a long and challenging journey which we navigated easily to the surprise of many. It arrived just in time before christmas and will make a great christmas gift to mothers around Bamenda. Hundreds of pre-orders have already been received and sales and distribution are kicking off tomorrow.

We mentioned we will provide the results of the head-to-head competition between the 3-stone fire place and the M-5000 cookstove. The M-5000 cookstove used firewood 100 FCFA (3 pieces of firewood) while the normal three stone fore place used firewood for 225 FCFA (7 pieces of firewood). That represents a saving of approximately 45%; other experiences we have witnessed demonstrated savings of 90% (using firewood for 50FCFA to cook beans in three hours as opposed to four hours with firewood for 550FCFA, using firewood for 200FCFA to cook corn-chaff in four hours, as opposed to using firewood for 925FCFA sometimes even cooked overnight). More importantly, women will breathe and children will breathe cleaner air while they cook.

These are the kind of experiences women around Bamenda will be making in the next couple of weeks when they obtain their own samples. More documented evidence and tangible sustainable development benefits will be reported in the next weeks as users make use of our dedicated hotline to record their personal experiences.

Well-done CEFEMAC/BOFAS team and well-done Envirofit for making this happen in the first place. We are looking forward to a long and exciting partnership.

Training and mobilising continues

We have been very busy mobilising for the arrival of the Envirofits
M-5000 stoves from Douala. We have successfully trained 15 sales and field agents over the last couple of weeks and are making final touches to the publicity campaign which is already airing in parts of Bamenda at the moment.

The Team Cefemac/Bofas acquired first hand training on how to use the stoves, how to instruct customers about its use and the concept of climate change being promoted by the programme. They also put the M-5000 and the 3-stone fireside head to head to test their operational efficiency. Find out who won in our next posts when we present the team and update you on the arrival of the long awaited stoves in Bamenda.

Several women along the road side cooking and selling food are also currently putting the M-5000 to test and are reportedly making huge savings and breathing cleaner air. Expect updates in our next posts as well.

Part of our Team Cefemac London comprising of our Chairman Venan Sondo and the COO Stefanie Sondo also arrive Cameroon. Everybody wants to be part of this milestone and we are looking forward to receiving them. We will keep you updated with a live blog on the activities in the next couple of week. Do join us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/cefemac or follow us on twitter @cefemac.

Team CEFEMAC training at new head quarters in Mile 3 Nkwen Bamenda

CEFEMAC – The Centre for Environmental Management & Change moved into their Head Quarters at Mile 3 Nkwen, Bamenda, North West Region, Cameroon this week. In a training and team bonding exercise led by the National Operations Manager Mr Richard Mbom, the team used a sample of the M-5000 efficient cook stove to test it to the limit. This was undertaken under the watchful eyes of Mrs Marita Londi, a seasoned and experienced food & nutritionist in Cameroon.

The result……a delicious meal of corn-chaff  (meal consisting of beans and corn in tomato curry sauce) under four hours (corn and beans were not soaked in water overnight), using firewood for approximately FCFA 300 ($0.60). That will represent a saving of CFA 400 assuming that firewood for CFA 700 ($1.4) is generally used for cooking corn-chaff and between 7-8 hours depending on whether the corn and beans are soaked overnight in water.

That is the kind of change we want in peoples lives, the kind of change we stand for….the kind of savings families around Cameroon will be privileged to be making as a routine when they acquire the M-5000 efficient cook stove thanks to CEFEMAC, BOFAS Sarl & Envirofit International.

The M-5000 smokes less (80% less than 3-stone fire places) hence cleaner in-door air during cooking (good for infants and mothers), burns efficiently hence huge savings in firewood consumption, it enables financial savings through less consumption of firewood and reduces cooking times dramatically.

Well if you still do not believe us, watch out for video evidence on the efficiency of the M-5000 as experienced by a handful of Mami Achombos (Women selling food on the roadside in Bamenda) from next week. They will share their experience with the M-5000 with you all via Youtube and demonstrate why it makes economic sense to invest in an M-5000 efficient cook stove.

We are now taking sales inquiries – sales@cefemac.org. For those of you in the diaspora who want to donate one or two to their families and extended families back home as a Christmas present, we can enable that for you as well. Get in touch via sales@cefemac.org and we will provide you with the necessary instructions.

More information on the training and team bonding exercise to follow in the next days.