Clean cooking energy improves lives in Mugombwa refugee camp

Around midday, Dina Umutesi, a Congolese refugee living in Mugombwa camp located in southern Rwanda, has just turned on her gas stove to prepare her family’s meals. She’s confident that it won’t take long to get her lunch ready.  

But the daily cooking routine hasn’t always been this smooth in Dina’s household. Before the introduction of gas stoves in the camp, obtaining cooking fuel was a daily struggle. The need to collect firewood often meant sending children into the nearby forest or instructing older boys to climb trees, exposing them to harmful accidents.  

“Ever since we began using gas, we have been very happy and we appreciate how quickly it helps us,” Dina explains. “Before we started using gas for cooking, obtaining cooking fuel was quite challenging for us. While we could gather firewood, there were times when we ran out before the end of the month, making it difficult to prepare meals.” 

The shift from firewood to cooking gas has not only reduced the time and effort required for meal preparation but has also contributed to improved cleanliness and an eco-friendly environment within the camp.  

Dina says burning wood used to generate smoke that permeated throughout the house, causing considerable disturbance.  

“Everything inside the house would absorb the smoke,” she explains. “With gas, we now confine it to a specific room or the living area. As a result, our living spaces are more hygienic, and our pots remain consistently clean.”​ 

Dina’s family and the rest of camp population have been collecting their Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinders from the camp’s distribution centre every 15 days since August 2021. The cooking energy in the camp was provided by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) through Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Rwanda, one of the organization’s implementing partners. In 2023, however, a new partner, Good People International took on the responsibility of providing gas to refugees in Mugombwa refugee camp.   

LPG gas for cooking was introduced in the camp in 2021. This followed a pledge by the Government of Rwanda during the 2019 Global Refugee Forum (GRF) to ensure the sustainable use of natural resources by providing clean and renewable energy solutions in refugee and host community households, in order to discourage the use of firewood which had been made illegal in 2018. 

Subsequently, UNHCR provides gas-powered clean cooking for refugee families in Mahama and Mugombwa refugee camps. So far, 68% of all camp-based refugees’ households in Rwanda have access to LPG for cooking. 

The provision of gas has also improved peaceful coexistence between refugees and neighboring communities.  

For instance, Francois Safari, another Congolese living in Mugombwa camp, says he once faced a challenging situation with severe consequences when he cut down a tree in search of firewood. He recalls that upon being caught by members of the host community, he was imprisoned and taken to a neighboring sector office until an executive secretary intervened to secure his release. 

“Our relationship with the host community was strained due to our past practice of destroying their forests,” Francois says. “Since the introduction of gas, we no longer face problems with them.”  

As the use of gas makes cooking process easier for refugees in Mugombwa camp, trees have been given a chance to thrive. This is contributing to the promotion of the coexistence of human needs and environmental conservation in and around the camp. 

UNHCR’s energy assistance programme faces several funding restraints in 2024. UNHCR requires urgent support to maintain the distribution of LPG gas in Mahama and Mugombwa refugee camps as well as the provision of cash assistance for energy in Kiziba, Kigeme and Nyabiheke camps.