There are many different types and designs of clean cookstoves all over the world to serve the particular conditions in different countries. The Red Fire Pot (RFP) is the clean cookstove designed for the Liberian cooking habits by the EnDev project. You find the RFP in Monrovia here.
Clean cookstoves guarantee a cleaner and more efficient way of cooking. Additionally, they help to save money due to the reduced fuel consumption. To make this statement more concrete we calculated the total savings of the small RFP for a middle size family compared the traditional Liberian coal pot. According to the Liberia Institute of Statistics &Geoinformation Services (LISGIS), 2016 (page 12) of a middle size family in Liberia consits of 4,26 members. In this calculation we considered the following factors. For the interpretation of the results, it is important to know that these factors are estimated and approximate figures:
- Cost 1 Bag of Charcoal: 4 USD
- Cost Traditional Coal Pot Round: 2 USD
- Cost Red Fire Pot, small: 13 USD
- Durability of Traditional Coal Pot: 3 months
- Durability of RFP: 12 months
- Middle size family uses 1 bag of charcoal per week with Traditional Coal Pot
- Middle size family would use 0,6 bag of charcoal per week with RFP (40% of saving)
First, we calculated how much it costs for a middle size family to cook one year with the traditional coal pot.
Calculation Traditional Coal Pot 1 year:
52 weeks x 4 USD = 208 USD
4 Coal Pots = 4 x 2 = 8 USD
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Total Cost: 216 USD
In comparison to the traditional stove we calculated the costs for a middle size family to cook one year with the Red Fire Pot.
Calculation RFP 1 year:
52 weeks x 2,40 USD = 124,80USD
1 RFP = 13 USD
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Total Cost: 137,8 USD
To sum up the calculation results: A middle size Liberian family saves 6,50 USD per month / and 78,20 USD per year by using the RFP instead of a traditional cookstove.
