Three billion people around the world cook meals over open fires, causing families to overuse their resources gathering and purchasing fuel. Ultimately women and children are dying from the effects of smoke inhalation and forests are steadily disappearing as wood is harvested and collected for survival. The end result is also causing greenhouse gas emissions to increase around the world– an estimate of 25% of the global CO2 emissions are generated from rural communities. This is where The Paradigm Project comes in.
The project works with developing communities and provides families with clean burning, fuel-efficient stoves to replace open fires through a sustainable approach that begins with a last-mile supply chain. Community members buy stoves from other community members who sell the stoves at a subsidized price. Sellers make a small profit from the sell, adding an element of economic sustainability and keeps incentive high. The Paradigm Project then follows up with buyers to educate them on the benefits of using stoves to cook and provides them with warranty and service programs.
The stoves eventually reduces a family’s dependence on collecting and purchasing fuel, while the effects caused by open fires are slowed down. Through a collaborative effort between donors, nonprofit foundations and investors, the organization has delivered 67,733 stoves in Guatemala and East Africa and plans to send out 5 million stoves by 2020.
Join us at the Fourth Estate Leadership Summit to meet the people behind The Paradigm Project and 40 other social good organizations who are working toward re-defining our response to world issues with real world solutions.
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