There are currently 2.5 billion people around the world cooking over an open fire, and they do so using fossil fuel and biomass such as wood, coal, gas, and cow dung. As these fuels are burned they release carbon into the atmosphere, and when trees are cut down for firewood, they can no longer sequester carbon from the atmosphere.

The solution is simple - if we can reduce the amount of fuels being burned, we can reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.

By utilizing heat retention cooking, a Wonderbag enables users to simply switch off their energy source once their food is simmering, transfer the pot of food to a Wonderbag, and see their food continue to cook for up to eight hours without any additional energy being required.

Our data highlights that each year, one Wonderbag can cut fuel usage by an astonishing 70 percent, save five trees from being cut down, and reduce carbon emissions by one tonne. This is in addition to other major benefits such as female empowerment, job creation, and significant cost savings for families.

Each year we employ independent third-party researchers to carry out carbon audits to calculate the carbon savings of the Wonderbags in circulation - these are called 'user habit surveys'. Using our database of Wonderbag users, the researchers contact a set of randomly selected households and record data parameters such as:

• Number, age and gender of people in the household
• Type of cooking system e.g. electric stove; other fossil fuel stove or biomass cooking system
• Time spent cooking on the household stove with a Wonderbag
• Quantity of fossil fuel or biomass consumed with a Wonderbag​

In order to determine the savings achieved using a Wonderbag, we compare the findings of these user habit surveys to data from our baseline survey, which shows how much fuel is typically used when cooking without a Wonderbag. For the baseline survey we use the Clean Cooking Alliance’s 'Kitchen Performance Test Protocol' to ensure the data collected is of high quality and captured correctly.

The data obtained from the surveys is then processed, and the resulting emission reductions are calculated based on the energy consumption in both the baseline and project scenarios. Once the carbon emissions have been verified and validated by the independent third-party, we are then able to issue high-quality Verified Carbon Units (VCUs).

It’s a stringent process tracking and calculating the carbon savings of a Wonderbag, however it allows us to receive a source of funding critical to the running of our business, which in turn enables us to distribute bags to the communities that need them the most.

If you are interested in learning more about our carbon investment opportunities, feel free to get in touch: carbon@wonderbagworld.com.