Infrastructure2 min read
Energy and cooking
Also known as Energy access in Dzaleka, Cooking fuel in Dzaleka
A reference entry on household energy in Dzaleka: reliance on firewood and charcoal, the burdens of biomass cooking, and the 2022–2024 solar electric cooking pilot run by MECS and the World Food Programme.
Overview
Like most displacement settings in sub-Saharan Africa, Dzaleka runs largely on biomass. Research on refugee settlements in the region reports that the great majority of camp households lack electricity access and rely on firewood and charcoal for cooking — a pattern that holds in Dzaleka, where most households cook on biomass and electricity access is limited to a minority of homes and institutions.
The costs of biomass cooking fall unevenly. Firewood collection is customarily a task for women and girls, who face safety risks on collection trips outside the camp, and indoor smoke from cooking fires carries health consequences. Fuel is also a recurring household expense in a setting where cash is scarce.
The solar electric cooking pilot
From September 2022, Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) and the World Food Programme ran a solar electric cooking pilot in Dzaleka, installing solar-powered electric stoves in 61 households and a day-care centre. A follow-up study 18 months after installation examined how the stoves held up in daily use and what they displaced.
The resulting report by Todd and Giese, published in September 2024, documents the practical constraints of solar cooking in the camp, including panel capacity, weather dependence, and the continued use of biomass as a backup.
Data availability
The figures in this entry describe the pilot and regional research findings rather than a camp-wide energy census. No comprehensive measurement of household energy access in Dzaleka has been published; the MECS report and UNHCR’s periodic fact sheets are the nearest available evidence.
References
Sources
- 1Solar Electric Cooking in Displacement Settings: Lessons from Dzaleka Refugee Camp
Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS), 10 September 2024
- 2Solar Electric Cooking in Displacement Settings: Lessons from Dzaleka Refugee Camp (report PDF)
Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS), September 2024
- 3
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Place
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