This winter, Afghanistan is suffering through a cold wave. Temperatures are consistently below zero and in some provinces they dropped to -34°C. It is the coldest winter in at least a decade. Climate change is increasing the likelihood for extreme temperatures. Resilience towards climate change requires being able to deal with temperature extremes. However, due to poverty people live in insufficiently equipped homes that offer little protection from the elements.
We supported 20 poor families in the village Ochadara who cannot heat their homes properly. They use a traditional heating system, with open fireplaces in holes below the walls of their houses in the entry or kitchen part of the house. This is dangerous because of the fumes that enter the home and as soon as the fire dies down you have an opening that lets a lot of cold inside.
People with some money use metal stoves, so called Bukharis, to heat their rooms. Stoves also help to reduce indoor air pollution, which is a leading cause for respiratory illnesses in developing countries and especially harmful to children.
In the village of Ochadara, a remote valley with a few mud houses that dot the hillsides, people are extremely poor and they do not have proper heating. We bought metal stoves for 20 families. The cost per stove was 3500 Afghani. The cost for transport was 3000 AF. Stoves were ordered from Kabul, then taken to Chabrasak. From there we rented a car to take them up the mountainous road to Ochadara.
The stoves were handed over to the people in the local mosque. Here you can see a snapshot from our project documentation.
Thanks a lot!
Nice writing with detials.
This project was very useful for the people.