By DANIEL GREEN

For The Beachcomber

Vashon’s innovative stove manufacturer Burn recently received the Ashden Clean Energy for Women and Girls Award.

Ashden, an internationally recognized nonprofit, awards “sustainable energy trailblazers” to showcase their efforts.

Burn was founded by Vashon resident Peter Scott and has offices on Vashon, where its stoves are designed and tested. Ashden awarded the company for its production of a new fuel-saving stove called the Jikokoa.

Burn has begun manufacturing and distributing the Jikokoa in Kenya, with hopes of reducing both the high levels of emissions and costs associated with traditional firewood- and charcoal-powered stoves.

Traditional stoves have consistently caused health problems, bankrupted families and contributed to deforestation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Each year, over 500,000 people there die from respiratory diseases that may be attributed to indoor fire cooking.

The new stove reduces fuel consumption and emissions by over 50 percent. In addition, Burn representatives say that the stove has helped Kenyan families save around $200 a year on firewood, an enormous sum in a developing country.

With help from supporters, Burn has built a stove manufacturing facility in Kenya. The facility employs over 100 people, and over half the employees are women.

The Ashden judging panel stated, “Burn must be commended not for just producing a great charcoal stove that saves women time and money, but also employing women in significant numbers, enabling them to increase their economic independence and improve their position in society.”

— Daniel Green recently graduated from Vashon High School, where he wrote for The Riptide.