Vita – Who they are and what they do:

Vita Impact (Vita) is a dynamic Irish development organisation with over 36 years of experience tackling rural poverty and environmental degradation across East Africa. Headquartered in Dublin and registered in the United Kingdom and the United States, Vita operates through well-established, 100% locally staffed offices in Ethiopia and Eritrea – ensuring that all programmes are grounded in local knowledge, priorities and leadership.

Since its founding in 1989, Vita has earned a strong reputation for delivering innovative, community-led solutions that restore ecosystems, build climate resilience and improve rural livelihoods. The organisation’s work is consistently recognised for its effectiveness, agility and long-term vision.

Vita’s work directly delivers social impact, climate justice and gender equality, especially for women and girls.

What NEF Does with Vita:

NextEnergy Foundation (NEF) began supporting Vita in 2025 for the project Empowering Women Through Cleaner Cooking in Ethiopia, designed to address the health, economic, and environmental challenges associated with traditional cooking methods in rural Ethiopia.

Running from May 2025 to March 2026, the project’s will empower 9,453 people (1,891 families) in four villages in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR) of Ethiopia to adopt sustainable and healthy cooking practices.

At the heart of the project is the distribution of 3,781 locally produced fuel-efficient cookstoves to 1,891 households, with each household receiving two types: one for baking injera, a daily staple, and another for cooking stews—fully meeting their cooking needs. These stoves reduce wood consumption by at least 50%, significantly cutting down the time women and girls spend collecting firewood. This time-saving measure not only improves health by reducing exposure to smoke but also frees up time for income-generating activities and education, particularly for girls.

The project intervenes in the Ethiopian cultural context, where cooking holds deep social significance – particularly for woman, whose ability to cook well is closely tied to her social status and personal pride. By supporting women in adopting cleaner, more efficient cooking methods, the project not only improves their health and economic standing but also enhances their role and respect within the community. Women play a central role throughout, from participating in Clean Cooking Committees to producing and distributing the stoves through local cooperatives.

Each household that receives a fuel-efficient cookstove is also responsible for planting 20 trees. These trees are planted in small, community-managed woodlots located within village boundaries. The specific sites are chosen by the communities themselves, often targeting degraded, overgrazed, or sloped lands where reforestation can help restore ecosystems and stabilise the terrain. . The initiative is designed to restore ecosystems, stabilise land, and improve local groundwater retention. The tree planting is not part of a formal forestry programme but is managed collectively by the community, which ensures long-term sustainability and reduces maintenance costs. Households benefit directly from the trees, especially those that bear fruit or nuts, which can supplement nutrition and generate income. These species also support beekeeping, adding further economic and ecological value.

Many of the trees planted are fruit- or nut-bearing species, which provide additional nutrition and income for households. These species also support honeybee cultivation, further enhancing the economic and ecological value of the initiative. Vita has been planting trees in this region since 2006 and is now scaling up its forestry work as a standalone initiative. In 2025, the organization plans to capture impact data using satellite technology to align with evolving carbon accreditation standards. The programme is overseen by Tsehayu Kassie, a master forester with extensive expertise in sustainable forestry.

The improved cookstoves and community-led tree planting efforts work together to reduce deforestation, protect ecosystems, and enhance biodiversity. These environmental benefits are further amplified through the Vita Green Impact Fund, which reinvests carbon offset revenues into local communities—creating a sustainable cycle of impact.

Key outcomes of the project include:

• distribution of 3,781 locally produced fuel-efficient cookstoves to 1,891 households
• 37,820 trees planted, alongside community training in tree care and conservation
• 9,453 people educated on forest conservation and clean cooking
• 100,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions avoided over the stoves’ 10-year lifespan by reducing fuelwood use by 50%
• Circular impact through the Vita Green Impact Fund, where carbon savings are converted into offsets and reinvested into local communities

Together with Vita, we are empowering women, protecting forests, and improving lives: By Women, With Women, For Women.