Reference :
V-P-MM-E-00218
Date :
31/03/2015
Caption :
Rakhine State, Myebon Township, Taung Paw camp for displaced people. The ICRC distributes fuel sticks made of local rice husk.
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
publication without restrictions
Description :
More than 100,000 people displaced by intercommunal violence in 2012 Rakhine State, Myanmar, are still living in camps. The majority are from the Muslim community. With restrictions in their movement outside the camps, families have limited access to sources cooking fuel.
To address the situation, the ICRC provides fuel sticks made from local rice husk to families in IDP camps in the townships of Pauktaw and Myebon who do not have access to cooking fuel.
When families do not have access to cooking fuel, they burn broken pieces of their shelter or hazardous materials such as plastic, or exchange part of their food rations for fuel.
By providing fuel sticks, ICRC contributes to a reduction of the overexploitation of surrounding forests and woodlands and the risk of security incidents associated with the collection of firewood around camps.
Women and children can spend up to four hours per day to collect fuel, taking time away from productive activities and school attendance while increasing their exposure to harassment.
Rice husk, a by-product of rice processing, is widely available in Rakhine State. The fuel sticks distributed by the ICRC are produced locally with materials that would traditionally been discarded.
ICRC is providing more than 18,000 displaced people in camps in Pauktaw and Myebon townships with limited access to firewood and cooking fuel between 50 and 100 per cent of their cooking fuel needs depending on the season and their vulnerability.
After receiving fuel sticks, households cut down their unavoidable expenditures by around 30 per cent, related to the reduction of household cooking fuel requirements.
Original material :
digital
Resolution :
2419x3623
Orientation :
portrait
Colour/B&W :
colour
