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Getting feedback from the communities Lifeline works with is critical to increasing transparency and ethical accountability in human-focused field research. In a partnership with Oregon State University’s Humanitarian Engineering Program, Lifeline tested the technical feasibility and usability of a sensor to quantify fuel use for different cookstove and fuel types.

Inside Uganda’s rural Apac District, Lifeline’s EverFlow program is bringing and keeping safe water flowing to area residents through a unique partnership with Stanford University. The program contracts with local water committees to regularly maintain over 700 community-owned handpumps, collect data to ensure they are operating properly and respond to emergency breakdowns in less than 24 hours.

When Lifeline launched its fuel-efficient cookstove program in the Lira region of Uganda in 2008, we aimed to tackle the growing problem of rising wood and charcoal costs and decrease the amount of biomass used for cooking. The results continue to impress: ILF Fuel Efficient Stoves have reduced the domestic consumption of charcoal and energetic expenditures.

Through a unique social enterprise model, Lifeline is helping communities leverage fuel and cost savings gained by using efficient energy technologies to increase their buying power to afford more goods and improve quality of life. The EcoSmart approach allows Lifeline’s Ugandan community partners to capture a market share through cost efficient products.

Institutional stoves are revolutionizing the way schools in Uganda deliver meals to students – and helping preserve the environment in the process. Mr. Were Nassani, deputy of Namalu Mixed Primary School in Nakapiripirit, Karamoja region, is reporting exciting savings in both energy and efficiencies with his school’s Institutional Stove (IS).

Georgette is an elderly single mother and caretaker of seven children in her household, many of whom are her own grandchildren orphaned while fleeing from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Uganda. A survivor of the area’s armed conflict, she has made her home in Uganda’s Nakivale settlement and is now an active member of the Wakati Foundation’s women’s group.

In March 2020 Lifeline relaunched its partnership with charity: water to continue improving access to safe, clean drinking water sources in the Apac and Kwania Districts of Northern Uganda.

Lifeline has spent decades dedicated to addressing the challenge of access to clean and safe water in poverty-stricken communities around the world. By 2050, there will be some 900+ million people living in rural areas — a 43% increase compared to 2015 — combined with other unique characteristics that put the continent at great risk for water-related stress and conflict.

Social enterprise workers have made tremendous strides in improving cookstoves to address their health and environmental impact, but these technical advancements often come at the cost of practical cooking needs. Lifeline teamed up with Oregon State University on a testing protocol to help stove designers evaluate cookstove usability in Uganda and Guatemala.

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Creating a Feedback Loop on Field Research

Keeping Safe Water Within Communities’ Reach

Stoves for Schools Boost Efficiencies, Save Energy

Generating Income for Her Family, One Stove at a Time

Lifeline Relaunches Partnership with charity: water

Rethinking Water Policies: Oxford University Research

Oregon State University: Research on Cookstoves & Behavior Change