Aga Khan Planning and Building Service,
Pakistan AKPBS,P won a 2011 Ashden Award for its achievement in improving homes and cutting fuelwood use in the mountains of Northern Pakistan.
Background
The Hindu Kush and Karakoram mountains lie in Northern Pakistan. Lack of gas supply pushes almost all rural households in the region to use wood as their primary fuel. Homes are cold and smoky in the harsh winters, when open fires or simple wood-burning stoves are used indoors for cooking and heating. Deforestation is a serious issue in Northern Pakistan. The recent improvements in roads and bridges that have made the area less isolated have at the same time led to increased deforestation. Many families own small wood lots, but still have to buy some of the wood that they need for building and fuel, which adds to deforestation. Deforestation increases wood prices, and has serious environmental impacts. Locally it leads to soil erosion and increased damage from flooding. Nationally it reduces water availability, since the area acts as the watershed for much of the country. The Building and Construction Improvement Programme (BACIP) was set up in 1997 by the Aga Khan Planning and Building Service, Pakistan (AKPBS,P) to improve the quality of rural buildings and the home.
The programme The BACIP programme works mainly in the Gilgit Baltistan and Chitral (GBC) region of Northern Pakistan. The programme develops energy-efficient products and other improvements for homes, in collaboration with users. Local entrepreneurs are trained to make the products to these designs. Resource people, identified and trained in the villages, work on commission to promote the products, coordinate purchase and delivery, help with installation and check that customers are satisfied.
The technologies The products developed improve thermal comfort, cut the use of wood, and reduce indoor air pollution in homes. The most popular are energy efficient stoves, water warming facilities, roof hatch windows, floor insulation and wall insulation.
How do they work? Stove designs vary in detail from region to region, to suit local cooking requirements, but all have the same basic features. The stove is made from sheet metal and can be
used for two cooking pots at the same time, while seated on the floor. Wood is added to the combustion chamber through a side door, which is then closed to limit air flow. A chimney takes the smoke out of the room. Insulated tiles are sometimes used around the stove body to cut heat loss and improve cooking efficiency during the summer, then removed for the four to seven winter months when room heating is needed. The stove was tested by Aprovecho Research Centre in 2008, and meets the Shell Foundation benchmarks for an ‘improved’ stove. A number of changes that would improve its energy efficiency have been tried, but do not suit stove users or else add too much to the cost.
Water-warming facilities use a metal pipe that runs around the inside rim at the top of the stove. Water in the pipe is heated by the burning wood, and circulates by natural convection to a 150-litre plastic storage barrel. Water is heated while cooking takes place, so additional wood is not needed. A tap in the barrel provides water at a suitable temperature for washing clothes or dishes, or to fill pots for boiling on the stove. The storage barrel is generally not insulated, because the water does not need to reach a very high temperature. Roof hatch windows are made from toughened glass mounted in a wooden frame. The window fits into the hole in the roof that was previously needed to take smoke out of the house. A cord is used to open and close the window, to provide ventilation particularly in the short, hot summer. The roof hatch windows play a very important role in retaining heat inside the house during cold winters. Floor insulation is made from a simple layer of 6mm thick foam, placed between the concrete floor and the carpet. The material comes from suppliers in Islamabad. Wall insulation is made from wood shavings, wheat stalks, hay and PE foam, which are held between a layer of plastic in a frame and the walls. It is usually fitted when building or extending a home.
How much does it cost and how do users pay? US$1 = PKR 84.7 (Pakistan rupees) [April 2011] Typical installed prices for the products are: Efficient stove PKR 2,200 (US$26) Efficient stove + water-warming facility PKR 4,200 (US$50) Roof hatch window PKR 4,000 (US$47)
ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY MAGAZINE |183|
CASE STUDY
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