Joseph, 20, Uganda - My community greatly depends on the available forest resources for survival. This includes cutting trees for wood fuel (charcoal and firewood) for cooking, timber for income and creating spaces for agricultural practices. These practices are creating a huge socio-economic, biodiversity and environmental problem. We are now experiencing an increase in drought, floods, decrease in bio-diversity as well as loss of soil fertility and ultimately very low food production.

My main reason for intervention is to convince people to adopt alternative sources of energy - mainly biogas whose raw materials (cow dung and urine) are in plenty in our community - and the use of biomass stoves.

This will save the forests and reduce the impacts of deforestation. Over 2000 residents will benefit. We will sensitize the community to adopt sustainable practices to natural resource use.

This I will do, in partnership with four members of our school wildlife club.  We will hold a demonstration on biogas use which will work as a model to other members of the community. 

A biomass energy saving stove that uses less wood fuel and is affordable and smokeless.