About Partners in Pellets
In Rwanda, 93% of households are dependent on traditional biomass for cooking. There has not been a single scalable cooking solution accessible to all income levels to date, causing the significant negative health, economic, and environmental effects of traditional cooking pervasive throughout the region. Pellets are not only a cost-effective solution; they also have the potential to transform Rwanda’s energy landscape.
Partners in Pellets aims to develop the Rwandan market and ecosystem for pellets in combination with using a clean gasifier stove. None of us could do this alone. To make this happen, we:
Develop skills and increase local knowledge
Pellet producers and suppliers of stoves have insufficient knowledge and skills on scaling this type of technology. We will provide trainings for those working in Rwanda and beyond to show the benefits of pellet cooking
Partner with local companies
The overall ecosystem for pellet suppliers and distributors is still in its infancy. We will build partnerships with local stakeholders
Create a carbon methodology
Rwandan entrepreneurs have limited access to and knowledge on carbon credits. We will provide trainings and assistance to attract, issue and sell carbon credits
Increase and facilitate access to finance
Local pellet producers have very limited access to finance. Various financial instruments are necessary to scale, de-risk and to become investment ready
Combat deforestation
We provide trainings on sustainable forest management to farmers and large-scale biomass suppliers
Pellets are a biomass product composed of raw materials like sawdust or other organic waste materials. These inputs are compressed into small cylinders, which are then used for cooking or other heating purposes.
Creating the market for pellets and promoting the use of clean gasifier stoves leads to solutions for households from a range of income levels and for SMEs using cookstoves for commercial cooking. With BioMassters offering a ‘Lease-to-Own’ Mimi Moto stove contract to its customers, the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) model removes the upfront risk and cost to customers when switching to their solution.
Pellet cooking is cleaner, faster, more convenient, and more affordable than charcoal
Raw materials for pellets can be sourced locally, stimulating economic development, and reducing dependencies on imported energy
Our solution
Pellet cooking is as clean as LPG but cheaper and less risky
Pellets can be produced from waste materials, such as sawdust or woody agricultural byproducts and coffee husk, thereby creating a circular solution
It is the only advanced biomass cooking solution that is clean, as validated by several studies and by the WHO
Many green jobs are created within the value chain of the project, from jobs within the pellet factory to ambassadors in urban areas
Building an eco-system
We are confident that our PAYGO stove + pellet fuel combination is the solution best-suited for the masses in urban Rwanda and beyond. It is the only truly clean, affordable, and sustainable energy cooking solution on the market today.
To establish a thriving ecosystem in which more households use pellets for cooking, the Partners in Pellets project focuses on multiple activities. Every partner brings in its own unique expertise, from producing pellets or cookstoves to giving training or developing a carbon credit methodology.
Using carbon credits
We will build a carbon credits ecosystem for pellet companies. By measuring and monitoring the use of the clean cooking technology and related carbon benefits, the project will develop a methodology to prove achieved emission reductions. If the methodology gets approved, pellet companies might be able to sell carbon credits per ton of reduced CO2-equivalent emissions. At the same time, the project will actively look for interested customers for the carbon credits.
Independent academic research on the performance of the pellet + gasifier stove combination in Rwanda.
Resources
A new CCA report with a 'Call to Action': Accelerating clean cooking as a nature-based climate solution
Groundbreaking study in Nature shows that pellet cooking offers best value for money, i.e. the most affordable option among the very few "Pro-Health" and "Pro-Climate" cooking solutions.
BioMassters Ltd. is a pellet cooking company, producing “Made in Rwanda” pellet fuel out of biomass waste materials and supply Tier-4 gasification pellet stoves to their customers. BioMassters will lead the pellet production, operate pellet demonstration sites, organise training sessions and contribute to the expansion of the pellet sector
The Partners
Mimi Moto has developed an advanced Tier-4 biomass stove, designed to burn pellets made from locally available biomass - such as wood or agricultural residues - in a clean and efficient way. Mimi Moto will distribute 820 stoves in a pilot project. It will also contribute to clean cooking awareness among the Rwandan population
BIX Capital provides debt financing to SMEs through an innovative results-based finance structure creating access to high impact products such as cookstoves or water purification systems for low-income households. BIX Capital will lead a prefinancing module. It will support the cluster and the wider ecosystem in applying for prefinancing. BIX will organise and lead training sessions on access to finance for entrepreneurs in Rwanda.
FairClimateFund finances and implements climate projects and focuses on clean cooking and reforestation projects. FairClimateFund will lead the development of a carbon methodology based on the Gold Standard. It will also provide training sessions on carbon credits for companies active in the pellet ecosystem
The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) helps entrepreneurs, NGO’s, knowledge institutes, policy makers and organisations to invest, develop and expand their businesses and projects. Both in the Netherlands and abroad. RVO improves collaborations and strengthens positions through funding and networks.
TRAIDE supports companies to identify and exploit opportunities, while enhancing positive impacts. TRAIDE will carry out project management, communication, logistics and monitoring and evaluation
Partners in Pellets contributes to the following Sustainable Development Goals:
Helping households to make a switch from traditional cooking fuels and inefficient stoves to using cleaner fuels and more efficient stoves that are specifically designed for pellet cooking
The expansion of pellet production and distribution leads to an increasing availability and diversification of jobs in Rwanda. At the same time, this leads to higher economic productivity. Entrepreneurs, farmers, young graduates (specifically young women) are given the opportunity to step into a new sector that provides both domestic and export opportunities.
By using pellets for consumption instead of firewood or charcoal, fewer trees and other unsustainable biomass products need to be used for cooking. By combatting the high deforestation rates of Rwanda, land degradation and biodiversity loss can be combatted as well. By training and educating farmers who are active in forestry to sustainably manage their lands, the project contributes to mitigating landslides and erosion in rural areas.
Get involved!
Get in touch if you would like to:
Learn more about the project
Partner with the project
Visit the production facility in Rubavu
Join a demonstration at the pellet factory in Rubavu
Discuss opportunities for establishing a pellet cooking ecosystem in your country
Contact
thijs.rutgers@traide.org
Visitors address Rwanda
TRAIDE Foundation
1 KG 630 Street
Kigali, Rwanda
Visitors address The Netherlands
TRAIDE Foundation
Bevrijdingsstraat 38
6703 AA
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