Help build a smokeless oven for World Environment Day

Wednesday June 5 marks World Environment Day, a day when people around the world, from all walks of life, come together and do something to help build a cleaner, greener, brighter future for us all. 

World Environment Day began in 1972, and has become one of the United Nations' main platforms to promote environmental awareness and action. 

Our contribution to a cleaner environment is to provide smokeless ovens in rural Uganda. Traditionally, many families in Uganda cook in a smoke-filled room. This exposes mothers and children to toxic fumes, which can lead to all sorts of respiratory illness. And so we encourage as many families as we can to build a smokeless oven.  

It's cheap and it's easy. It costs nothing for the materials – just the time to prepare the bio-mass used to construct it.  But we estimate that each about £30 for us to train people to make and use them properly.

Once constructed the advantages are huge – not only do they improve the health of the people using them, but they cut down on the amount of fuel that is used – and the amount of time spent collecting it.  Cooking is more efficient as two pots can be used at once cutting down on the time spent preparing the meal. A smokeless oven is also much safer than the traditional open fire.

So please help Ugandan families lead safer, cleaner, healthier lives.  Text SMOU13 £5 or more to 70070 to make a donation to this appeal.  Alternatively you can click here to donate online.