Background

Background

After the apartheid era in South Africa ended in February of 1990 (US Department of State, 2009), thousands of people flocked from country-side homes to stay outside of the City of Cape Town in search of jobs.  The small shacks that they built, once meant to be only temporary, are now becoming permanent housing in what is known as an informal settlement.  Monwabisi Park is an example of one such informal settlement in an area called Khayelitsha.  Since so many people moved into the area so quickly, basic infrastructure and services, such as electricity, are lacking even today.  This forced many residents  to resort to using dangerous and inefficient methods of cooking.

Cooking Concerns within Monwabisi Park

The residents of Monwabisi Park, an informal settlement outside of Cape Town, South Africa, commonly use unsafe paraffin stoves as a less-expensive alternative to electric and gas stoves.  These stoves are dangerous for a number of reasons including an increased risk of fires and creating poor air quality within homes.  Paraffin stoves can easily be knocked over, which can cause fires that spread easily due to the close proximity of the houses and the building materials used.  According to UNICEF, burns are the fourth highest cause of death in children under fourteen in South Africa (Ward, 2008).  Harmful toxins are also emitted at unsafe levels by burning paraffin in these stoves, which can lead to respiratory illnesses.  When paraffin is sold, it is poured from the barrel into an unmarked recycled soda bottle.  Children can easily mistake this mislabeled bottle for a beverage and accidentally consume the paraffin.    It is clear that there are serious problems with the current paraffin stoves and that better alternatives must be established.  To see the stoves that are currently being used in the settlement, along with their respective concerns, click here.

Previous Efforts Made

Figure 2: Gas Tanks in the Only Store in C Section that Sells Gas

Attempts have been made in the past to provide the residents of informal settlements alternative cooking methods.  One attempt made by the City of Cape Town to reduce the use of paraffin included increasing the availability of gas. This initiative was not well received because the gas containers were difficult to transport (Eskom Gas Sheet).

It was shown that in Khayelitsha, about twenty percent of one’s monthly income is spent on energy (Palmer Development Group, 2007).   This qualifies those living in this neighborhood as living in energy poverty.   Sarah Ward has done extensive research in the areas of energy in informal settlements and low cost housing.  She wrote a useful book, called The New Energy Book, which details approaches to make a community more sustainable. Another study, completed in 2008 by a group of students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Monwabisi Park, collected useful data on existing conditions in energy usage in heating and cooking, but left much to explore in the area specifically regarding cooking (Keherer et al., 2008).

While these past studies, along with many others, outline the problem well and begin to offer solutions, they have still fallen short of making long-lasting improvements.  Even though efforts have been made, the use of the dangerous paraffin stoves still persists in the informal settlements, specifically in Monwabisi Park.

What We Planned To Do

The primary goal of this project was to offer a better means of cooking for the residents of Monwabisi Park, South Africa that will best satisfy the following criteria: safe, healthful, accessible, inexpensive, socially acceptable, and sustainable. We also looked to teach members of the community ways to reduce energy consumption that will better their health and safety with respect to energy use. For a look at our original project proposal click here.