Climate Constellations

The Keeling Curve Prize annually awards $250,000 to projects that display proven carbon uptake, drawdown, or sequestration efforts. Through their GWMP Sphere Program global network of people and projects dedicated to finding climate solutions, they connect individuals with sponsors, students with internships, and problems with solutions - creating an atmosphere of change.

Due to the current COVID-19 crisis, the Sphere came up with a fantastic Climate Constellations programme, with the goal of pairing students with organisations for an 8-10 week period, virtual, unpaid, full or part-time internship, as they had lost their summer internship positions.

We welcome Jolie Wasserman as the Marketing & Communications intern for Simoshi. In this role, Jolie will monitor several social media platforms and use creative marketing techniques to raise awareness about carbon finance and promote carbon credit sales. Jolie is currently an undergraduate at Cornell University where she is pursuing a B.S. degree in Environment & Sustainability in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She hopes to combine her interests in long-term sustainability, business, and finance by pursuing a career in the sustainable management and sustainable finance fields.

Jolie has also served as an intern for the past few years in the office of New York State Assemblywoman, Sandy Galef. In this capacity, she helped work on a plastic bag ban, which ultimately went into effect this past March. Additionally, Jolie is a researcher for Cornell University Sustainable Design’s Solar Panel Reboot project team. This summer, she will continue her work further investigating solar panel refurbishment techniques. In addition to these endeavors, Jolie is an accomplished flutist having performed at both Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Her involvement with the music community continues in college as a member of the Cornell University Wind Symphony.

Schools Closed Throughout June

Last month we were excited to write about candidate classes resuming on 4th of June. But unfortunately that directive never happened as President Museveni announced last week that schools would be closed for another 30 days.

It is certainly sad for us too as most of our activities had also been halted. We have used these past months to maintain all institutional improved cook stoves (IICS) as kitchens are not being used.

We are still getting calls and emails from new schools asking for quotations and payment plans to purchase new IICS and move away from traditional 3-stone fires and outdoors cooking as the pictures here below. Private and public schools are desperate to go back to normal but also concerned about how they will manage to implement the social distancing requirements.

It is also of worry to read reports that have looked at the consequences the ebola pandemic had in West African countries and early marriage of adolescent girls. Leaving school takes them away from friends and spaces where they develop social skills and networks as well as support systems. The importance of addressing these challenges is clear: many countries through sub-Saharan Africa have relatively young populations – the majority of the population is aged below 25 – and school closures could leave many adolescent girls vulnerable.

End of a May in Standstill

May has been a quiet month as we continued with the lockdown measures as a result of COVID-19. Nevertheless, this week we have entered a new phase as relaxing measures are now in place, such as private cars are back on the road, and public transport will be soon released.

The other great news is that candidate classes (Primary 7, Senior 4 and Senior 6) will go back to school next week to commence with Term II. This is certainly crucial for Simoshi as we are eager to continue promoting the use of energy efficient cooking stoves in school kitchens to get them moving away from traditional 3-stone fires. But we urgently need for all classes to go back to “normal” or how we used to know life before - if there is any chance that it will ever be the life as we knew it.

Debate aside, we have used the spare time to work on the office’s backyard and the bushy space has been magically converted to a vegetable garden by our colleague Henry. I could not resist to also share a picture of the breathtaking sunrise in Kampala, as air got cleaner (and views more stunning) during the past three months of lock down. And a picture of the deserted capital roads being patrolled by military to ensure everyone adheres to the health measures.

Please remember to continue supporting our activities and schools in Uganda by offsetting your carbon footprint as you purchase the emission reductions (carbon credits) from the United Nations Climate Neutral Now portal here.

And Another School Joins!

Today we had again the pleasure to deliver 6 institutional improved stoves (IICS) to a secondary school of 2,000 boarding students in Bombo, 60 kilometers ways from the capital Kampala. Despite all the difficulties we are currently facing with the transport restrictions (between many other!) we have still managed to remove old stoves, and make the delivery and installation of the new IICS. We are looking forward to going back to normal times so we can share pictures of the new kitchen and happy cooks.

Today We Make One Month Of Lock Down

In Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni gave the order for all schools to close effective 18th of March, due to the current COVID-19 crisis. It proved to be an effective decision, between many taken in conjunction with the Ministry of Health, as one month down the road we now stand at 56 confirmed cases, 20 recoveries, and no deaths.

For us here at Simoshi, we had several schools that had placed their orders for the purchase of the institutional improved stoves (IICS) before this lock down started. Because factories were allowed to operate - as long as employees could make it to work either because they stayed on site or lived nearby - we had managed to continue with the manufacturing activities, and subsequent deliveries of the IICS.

This week Najja Modern has now joined Simoshi’s Project Activity, and we wanted to share with you some happy pictures of the delivery made this past Tuesday. And also mention how we made it to the school on Busabal road, with whichever transport was allowed, as public and private transport is currently banned. The Director of the school, Mr. Ssebagala, rode his bicycle from Bukoto, approximately 13 kilometers away. It is this kind attitudes that keeps us going in such difficult times…..

Join the Global Community Committing to Becoming Climate Neutral by 2021

During such difficult times we are now facing, many organisations, private sector, governments and individuals are still committed and working together to reach climate neutrality.

The United Nations Climate Change secretariat invites organizations to take the Climate Neutral Now Pledge. The pledge represents a growing movement of companies and governments taking the lead on reducing emissions and accelerating the global journey to a climate-neutral future.

Organizations that take the pledge commit to:

1. Measure and report their greenhouse gas emissions for an agreed-upon period of time

2. Reduce their greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible

3. Offset remaining emissions with UN Certified Emission Reductions (CERs).

Please click on the button below to learn more on how you can lead the way on reducing emissions and accelerating the global journey to a climate-neutral future.

We Adjust, And Keep Pushing

In Uganda, schools were the first institutions to close as a result of COVID 19. It has now been over 10 days since the President of Uganda Mr. Yoweri Museveni gave the order for all school to close, and for the past couple of days, all public transport was also banned.

As we all collaborate to avoid further spread of the virus, businesses are allowed to continue operating, as long as the rest of the measures in place are followed. Therefore I wanted to update you on what has been happening here at Simoshi. Our clients are schools, and our daily activities were certainly disrupted. But we adjust - like everyone else does - and are using the time wisely to improve our services.

We had conducted yet again another training at the stove manufacturer’s (Ugastove) factory, and Henry, our Maintenance Officer, has been repairing institutional improved cook stoves (IICS) as kitchens are now closed.

Ugastove’s personnel are commuting by foot, luckily they live close by the factory, and our schools past orders are still being processed, with several IICS of different capacities being manufactured. Deliveries are still being made to new schools joining our Project Activity. Below are some pictures of the activities during these past days.

Carbon TradeXchange

The Carbon TradeXchange (CTX) is operated by the Environmental Market Services Limited (EMS), a UK-based subsidiary under the Global Environmental Markets. Under the CTX brand, EMS trades carbon credits certified by the Gold Standard, the Clean Development Mechanism and the Verified Carbon Standard, while also providing services such as carbon offsetting, carbon neutral certification, and carbon footprinting.

Simoshi’s Gold Standard Certified Emission Reductions (carbon credits) from its Project Activity “Institutional Improved Cook Stoves for Schools and Institutions in Uganda” (ID 10345)are now listed on the Carbon TradeXchange.

Happy Day to Our Favourite Ladies

We dedicate this post to the ladies in the school kitchens, working under unbearable conditions when using traditional stoves or 3-stone fires. Smoke, flying ash, soot, heat and flames threatening from all sides put their stamina to the limit. Usually underpaid - the average monthly salary for a school cook is USD 35 - they start their day very early in the morning to make sure the porridge is ready by 7am, to continue with the tireless job of preparing lunch (and supper for those boarding) and then serving the food to the children, always with a smile in their faces. Happy women’s day!

From Hell to Heaven, a Drastic Transformation

Whenever I visit a school kitchen using traditional 3-stone fires to cook the children meals, and spend a couple of hours with the cooks measuring saucepans and discussing their needs, the following day I end up with a terrible headache and flu, as a result of indoor air pollution.

Burning firewood in traditional stoves emit large quantities of health-damaging particulate matter and climate warming pollutants (e.g. black carbon) into the kitchen environment, increasing the risk of respiratory illnesses, including childhood pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular diseases, and lung cancers.

Global burden of disease estimates have found that exposure to household air pollution due to cooking on inefficient biomass stoves led to an estimated 4.3 million deaths in 2012. This does not include risks related to the use of inefficient lighting like candles or kerosene lamps (WHO).

Yesterday I visited a secondary school in Nsangi who recently joined Simoshi’s Project Activity. I want to share the pictures of their kitchen before and after, and the smiles of the cooks now as they tell me how their “new office” feels like as the smoke drastically reduced inside the building from burning firewood.

Carbon Credits Also Labelled Gold Standard

Simoshi’s first issuance of 8,457 carbon credits are labelled both with the Clean Development Mechanism as Certified Emission Reductions (CERs), and also obtained the Gold Standard labeling, so they became GS CERs. With its carbon credits labelled by two of the most prestigious certifying bodies on carbon financing, reassures potential offset buyers of the high quality standards Simoshi’s Project Activity “Institutional Improved Cook Stoves for Schools and Institutions in Uganda” undergoes. Simoshi has a positive impact on nine out of the seventeen existing United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), being one of the projects effectively addressing and achieving the global challenges we face, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation and access to energy.

We encourage readers to visit the Gold Standard Project Registry to learn more about the project’s achievements and registered documentation. Please consider supporting this project when offsetting your carbon footprint.

Tough Job For Strong Muscles

At Simoshi we are obsessed with two things when it comes to firewood consumed at schools:

1) Cooks can only feed the institutional improved cook stoves (IICS) with small firewood pieces,

2) Firewood needs to have a water content of at least 15% for ideal combustion, therefore firewood has to be stored raised from the ground, under a shelter for at least 6 months. Firewood chopped from the wood has a 50% water content.

Chopping firewood is a very difficult job, especially when men have to use an axe because schools fail to raise money to buy a chainsaw, or even hire one. So my gratitude and admiration goes to all those men giving their best to get the firewood pieces as we need them, while always keeping a happy face.

Open

This is how schools usually store their firewood for the kitchen

Shelter

How to store firewood to bring the water content down to 15% and double the energy value

The toughest jobs of all, chopping the firewood with the axe, into small pieces.

Valentino proudly showing his muscles and still happy after that fantastic job!

The short film above produced by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) promotes the efficient use of wood as a fuel in households. Efficient heating technologies, combustion, pyrolysis, thermal insulation, wood storage as well as aspects of consumer health and behaviour of wood use are visualized and explained in an easy to understand manner, so we always sit down at schools with staff members to teach them about the benefits of cooking with dry firewood.

Back To School

Public schools (government curriculum) officially started today. Good luck to all the children (and parents) as another year full of learning and fun activities kick-off.

As Simoshi, we have welcomed five new schools to our Project Activity with their kitchens now fully utilising the institutional improved cook stoves (IICS) for all of their cooking activities.

With the school year on full swing, our Project Officers will be busy on the ground monitoring the IICS performance, kitchen staff and firewood consumption. We look forward to another great year of collaboration with the school Head Teachers and Directors.

January Maintenance

This is the time again where schools are closed for the longest period during the school year. That’s the best time for Simoshi to perform the free annual maintenance on the institutional improved cook stoves (IICS). Our colleague Henry Bwire, our Maintenance Officer, explains in this short video some of the most common types of breakages he finds in the school kitchens.

Last Post of 2019 with Gratitude

This year has seen Simoshi finally reach targets that are a result of efforts made by a team of supportive staff, partners, family and friends who have seen us rise from the shadows. Nothing is easy for start-ups, but it is even harder in Sub-Saharan countries overwhelmed by serious problems from poverty and illiteracy, to unemployment and inadequate policy to support sustainable initiatives.

Nevertheless, our passion for a positive impact has seen the sun rise and we are excited as we enter 2020 with loads of expectations.

In November 2019 our first 8,457 certified emission reductions (CERs) were issued. These are now for sale at the UNFCCC Climate Neutral Now portal for those who want to voluntarily offset their carbon footprint.

We would like to thank all 13 buyers of 170 CERs who in the past week had supported our Project Activity and the efforts made to move schools away from using the 3-stone fires when cooking all of their daily meals. Their contribution has made a huge impact in making this possible, as we continue to hand hold the schools when making the transition to using the institutional improved cook stoves (IICS).

We installed the first IICS back in March 2016, and up to date, we are still repairing/maintaining all those IICS for free to all of our participating schools, monitoring and training their kitchen staff, ensuring the firewood reductions are achieved as when we first deployed the stoves. By changing their traditional cooking practices with the use of an IICS, an average school with 700 children reduces their firewood consumption by half, translating into 90 tons of carbon dioxide not released into the atmosphere every year.

Their voluntary action to neutralise the carbon emissions is an exemplary endeavour and on behalf of all the children and school staff would like to say Thank You for their generosity and awareness on climate change.

Happy end of the year to everyone and a better start of the new new to come.

Example of a voluntary cancellation certificate

Offset Your Carbon Footprint

Next time you switch on your oven or gas cooker, please remember, that schools in Uganda are still using 3-stone fires to cook all children meals.

Simoshi's carbon credits are now available on the United Nations carbon offset platform, and you can easily use their calculator to know how many tons of CO2 you should offset.

By offsetting your carbon footprint through the purchase of a carbon credit generated by Simoshi's project activity "Institutional Improved Cook Stoves for Schools and Institutions in Uganda", you are supporting a school in several ways. To name a few, they reduce by 50% their firewood purchases - saving an average of USD 800 per school year, while also reducing by half the smoke generated from the firewood combustion. Your contribution guarantees that Simoshi repairs/maintains all installed institutional improved cook stoves for free for the next 5 years, to ensure all benefits are enjoyed while a positive transformation in behavior is achieved in the kitchen environment.

8,457 Certified Emission Reductions Issued

Another big milestone for Simoshi was achieved today, as its first 8,457 certified emission reductions (CERs) or carbon credits have been issued from its registered Clean Development Mechanism and Gold Standard Project Activity “Institutional Improved Cook Stoves for Schools and Institutions in Uganda”. Such reductions of carbon dioxide not released into the atmosphere were made possible as 49 participating schools moved away from their traditional 3-stone fires to energy efficient cooking stoves for the preparation of all of their cooking activities.

Heavy Load

Delivering institutional improved cook stoves (IICS) to a school joining our Project Activity needs a lot of energy and manpower. On average, a new school usually needs between 3 to 4 IICS to cover for all of their cooking needs. IICS can vary in capacities - from 50 litres to 450 litres, depending on the number of children enrolled. Such capacities reflect in the dimensions and weight of the IICS, and when it comes to offloading them from the truck, and then moving them into the kitchen, muscles are needed!

Below we share some pictures of the delivery made last month to our new school Kisugu Church of Uganda, to reflect the effort described during offloading.

Request for Issuance Now Public

What a fantastic day as Simoshi’s first carbon credits are now in the final leg of a long and unimaginable journey. The request for issuance of 8,457 certified emission reductions is now public, and if no request for review is issued from either Simoshi or any three UNFCCC’s Executive Board members, the carbon credits will be issued on Tuesday 19 of November at 17:00 hours GMT.

Carbon Markets and Carbon Financing

The conference “Carbon Markets and Carbon Financing: Managing the transition from Kyoto to Paris. What is in for East Africa?” is currently taking place in Addis Ababa, supported by the German Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and in collaboration with Energising Development (EnDev) Ethiopia, with support from Irish Aid, and the UNFCCC Regional Collaboration Centre in Kampala.

We are participating and engaging in interesting and technical discussions as the carbon markets evolve into the new post 2020 phase. It has been a great opportunity to network with individuals from diverse sectors such as private sector, international donors, government and NGOs from Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and the host country Ethiopia.

The main aim of this dialogue is to provide us participants with an improved understanding of the new generation of carbon markets and climate finance instruments of the Paris Agreement. While jointly reflecting on the successes and failures generated by the Kyoto mechanisms to provide input to the on-going rule-setting for the Paris Agreement instruments, as well as preparations by East African countries for accessing these funding sources.

I am sharing some pictures of the event and the programme which gives you clear ideas of the presentations made.