The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Institute of Industrial Research (CSIR-IIR) in collaboration with Aprovecho Research Center in the USA, has organised an intensive 10-day training programme in Cookstove Efficiency Testing for staff at CSIR-IIR Regional Knowledge and Testing Center (RKTC) and Technology Consultancy Center (TCC), Kumasi.
The training which was facilitated by the Energy Commission and CSIR-IIR is part of activities planned to build the capacity of research scientists and technologists at the Center in conformity to international standards in preparation towards the acquisition of accreditation for the Cookstove and fuel testing laboratories and also to demonstrate the Institute’s commitment to excellence in service delivery and research.
Speaking at the opening, Mr. Ebenezer Neequaye Kotey, Head, Metrology Division stated that about 70 per cent of Ghana’s adult population use Cookstoves which makes the training very important to offer the needed knowledge required to regulate how Cookstoves are made, used and maintained. He emphasized that CSIR-IIR is keen on ensuring adherence to international best practices to improve service delivery and will therefore not relent on its efforts to provide the requisite knowledge.
Mr. Sam Bentson, the key resource person led the workshop with support from other local partners. Mr. Bentson currently works as a Cookstove Engineer with administrative responsibility as the Laboratory Manager, Aprovecho Research Center, USA. An Engineer by training, he brings to the fore rich experiences gained at Aprovecho Research Center, a non-profit organisation assisting developing world organizations to establish high quality labs that can test and improve wood burning cooking stoves. The training was focused on adherence to ISO 19867-1: 2018.
Participants were introduced to stove testing and design, water boiling tests (WBT) for fuel and emissions on laboratory emission monitoring systems (LEMS) as well as processing test results, LEMS assembly and maintenance, and durability test for week one (1). Week two (2) was dedicated to the ISO 19867-1:2018 quality control procedures and guidelines, controlled cooking tests and data analysis.
At the closing, Dr. Francis Boateng Agyenim, Director, CSIR-IIR, thanked the resource person Mr. Samuel Bentson for bringing his experiences to bear and sharing knowledge with participants and congratulated partners for the wonderful collaboration established to put together the training. The Director mentioned that bringing together formidable partners such as the Ministry of Energy, Energy Commission and the Ghana Alliance for Clean Cooking (GHACCO) is that which should be encouraged to spur greater achievements to propel national development.
Ghana as a country has identified Cookstove technology development as part of its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and therefore standardization through ISO which is the focus of this training is key to the achievement of Ghana’s NDCs, he intimated.
After presenting certificates to participants, Dr. Boateng Agyenim wished them well and charged them to apply knowledge gained to their respective roles to help change the Cookstove narrative in Ghana. In all, participants numbered almost 20 made up of research scientists and technical staff took part in the training.
