KarBur projet kick off for energy recovery from shea nutshells

Funded by the Fund for Innovation in Development (FID), the KarBur project’s main objective is to design and manufacture combustion stoves in Burkina Faso using shea shells as fuel. Adapted from robust and accessible improved cooking stoves for rural households, these "low technology" innovations could be directly used by women's associations that collect, boil and shell shea nuts, and/or by craftsmen such as bakers, “dolotières” located near the fuel.

Led by CIRAD's BioWooEB research unit, in partnership with the Burkinabe NGO Nafa Naana, the French industry Olvea Vegetable Oils, the consultancy firm Climate Solutions and the higher education institute Institut 2iE, the project will have an impact on the quality and standard of living of households by:

- Decreasing their energy expenses therefore increasing their revenues

- Decreasing respiratory disorders and diseases

- Decreasing the arduousness of work and saving time as wood collection will decrease

A data collection campaign has already begun in order to confirm the current sheat nut boiling practices, the existing obstacles to the use of shea shells as fuel and smoke emissions with current stoves.