CookStove Project

What CookStove Project does

The Cookstove Project is a US 501(c)(3) public charity headquartered in Rockleigh, New Jersey, founded in 2013 by Rebecca Sommer to eliminate preventable deaths caused by cooking with three-stone open fires in developing countries. The organization designs and installs custom-built clean cookstoves for rural families in Uganda (since May 2013) and Nepal (since 2014), with 45,000+ stoves built and 225,000+ people impacted to date. Each stove is constructed from locally sourced materials—clay in Uganda, bricks, steel piping, and mortar in Nepal—and is custom-shaped to fit the cooking pots already used in the home, incorporating proper combustion chambers and chimney ventilation to reduce indoor air pollution, save approximately 2.15 tons of wood per year (66% reduction), and avoid roughly 2.9 tons of carbon emissions per stove per year.

The organization delivers stoves completely free of charge through a community-led distribution model: 14 trained cookstove masters serve 51 villages in Uganda's Mukono and Nakasongola districts, while social mobilizers embedded in each Nepal community coordinate with local government and families, who contribute roughly $4 or bricks toward their stove. Families participate in construction to ensure ownership and long-term adoption. The revenue model is 100% donation-based via tiered giving ($10 per stove, $20 for two, $100 for ten, $1,000 for an entire village) routed through PayPal or check, with the organization explicitly stating it is not a carbon-credit organization and that 96% of donations go directly to stove construction. Independent impact verification is provided by CREEC (Center for Research on Environmental and Energy Efficiency), and the organization's partners include the Clean Cooking Alliance, Rotary, Omnimed, and the Matt Haley Trust.

Name

CookStove Project

Legal name

The Cookstove Project

Website

https://cookstoveproject.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Cookstove Project is a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit that designs, builds, and installs custom clean cookstoves free of charge for rural families in Uganda and Nepal, reaching 225,000+ people through a community-led model funded entirely by charitable donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clean Cooking / Humanitarian Aid Services

NAICS

Heating Equipment (except Warm Air Furnaces) Manufacturing (333414)

SIC

Heating Equip, Except Elec & Warm Air; & Plumbing Fixtures (3430), Heating Equipment, Except Electric & Warm Air Furnaces (3433)

akta.pro primary industry

Biomass Heating Systems (Commercial/Institutional Boilers) (EUAAAGAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Emissions Control & Flue Gas Cleanup for Biomass Heat/Power (SCR/SNCR, ESP/Baghouse) (EUAAAGAK), Industrial Biomass Boilers & Steam Systems (Process Heat) (EUAAAGAC)

Keywords

• Clean cookstoves
• Indoor air pollution
• Humanitarian aid
• Clean cooking solutions
• Nonprofit charity

Headquarters

HQ city

Rockleigh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: The Cookstove Project is a 501(c)(3) public charity that generates revenue entirely through charitable donations. 96% of donations are spent solely on building cookstoves in Uganda and Nepal. Donors can contribute via PayPal or check. Each stove costs approximately $10 to build and maintain.
2. Not a Carbon Credit Organization: The organization explicitly states they are not a carbon credit organization, so their accountability is to communities rather than carbon markets. They have independently verified results from CREEC.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Cookstove Project designs, builds, and installs custom-made clean cookstoves for families in rural Uganda and Nepal, providing them completely free of charge. Each stove is constructed with family participation using locally accessible materials — clay in Uganda, and bricks, steel piping, and mortar in Nepal — and is custom-fitted to the household's existing cookware. The stoves reduce indoor air pollution, cut wood consumption by approximately 66% per year, and save roughly 2.9 tons of carbon per stove annually.

Product overview

The Cookstove Project is a nonprofit organization that provides a single unified product offering: clean cookstoves for families in developing countries. The main product is the Clean Cookstoves, custom-built from local materials (clay in Uganda, bricks/steel piping/mortar in Nepal) and provided free of charge to families. The project also offers Rocket Stoves as a simpler variant for emergency/displacement situations. All stoves are built with family participation to ensure ownership and sustainability, featuring chimneys for smoke ventilation and efficient fuel combustion.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Clean Cookstoves Custom-built, fuel-efficient cookstoves installed free of charge in homes of rural families in Uganda and Nepal. Each stove is made from locally sourced materials (clay in Uganda; bricks, steel piping, and mortar in Nepal) and is custom-fitted to the household's existing cookware. The stoves reduce indoor air pollution, burn approximately 66% less wood than a three-stone open fire, save roughly 2.15 tons of wood per year, and avoid approximately 2.9 tons of carbon emissions per stove per year.
• Rocket Stoves A simpler, portable variant of the clean cookstove used as emergency/disaster-relief housing support for families displaced by the 2015 Nepal earthquake. Designed for rapid deployment in semi-permanent shelters while still reducing indoor smoke and fuel consumption.

Quantifiable outcome

• 66% less wood used compared to three stone open fires
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• RotaryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerListed as a partner in the 'Our Partners' section of the website. Rotary International is a global service organization that may provide support, resources, or connections for the Cookstove Project's mission.
• Clean Cooking AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a partner in the 'Our Partners' section. The Clean Cooking Alliance works to accelerate the adoption of clean cookstoves and fuels in developing countries, providing support and resources to organizations like The Cookstove Project.
• OmnimedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a partner in the 'Our Partners' section. Omnimed focuses on cookstoves and health issues, providing support and partnerships for clean cooking initiatives.
• CREEC (Center for Research on Environmental and Energy Efficiency)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides independent verification of results for The Cookstove Project. This is significant as the organization emphasizes they have 'independently verified results from CREEC, not just field anecdotes' - important for donor confidence and impact measurement.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• BURN Manufacturing: East Africa-based (Kenya) manufacturer of clean cookstoves targeting similar low-income households in sub-Saharan Africa. Closely comparable mission, product category, and customer base, with BURN operating as a for-profit social enterprise while CSP is a 501(c)(3).
• BioLite: Designs and distributes biomass cookstoves with thermoelectric generators for off-grid households in developing markets. Comparable clean-cooking technology and developing-world customer base, with additional energy-harvesting features.
• World Stove: Social enterprise producing clean cookstoves for displacement and refugee settings, similar in target use case to CSP's rocket stoves deployed after the 2015 Nepal earthquake. Strong overlap on humanitarian/emergency deployment.
• Prakti Design: India-based clean cookstove manufacturer producing biomass and gas stoves for South Asian households. Comparable product category and customer segment, with India-specific focus analogous to CSP's Uganda/Nepal focus.
• Ecozoom: Designs and distributes high-efficiency biomass cookstoves for households in developing countries. Comparable product (biomass stove), target market (low-income cooking households), and impact-verification approach.
• Sistema Biobolsa: Mexico-based social enterprise providing biogas/biodigester systems to smallholder farmers as a clean cooking and fertilizer solution. Comparable developing-world clean-cooking mission with similar impact measurement focus.

Emerging players

• Solar Cookers International: Non-profit promoting solar cooking as an alternative to open-fire biomass cooking in developing countries. Comparable clean-cooking mission and non-profit structure, but uses solar thermal rather than improved biomass.
• ATEC Biodigesters: Cambodia-based provider of biogas digesters for clean cooking and fertilizer in Southeast Asia. Overlapping clean-cooking mission with CSP, but with a different technology (biogas vs. improved biomass) and regional focus.

Others

• Clean Cooking Alliance: Industry convener housed at the UN Foundation that CSP lists as a core strategic partner. Not a direct competitor - functions as an ecosystem enabler, grant funder, and standards body for clean-cooking initiatives including CSP's.

Broad incumbents

• Envirofit International: Larger clean-cooking social enterprise offering a portfolio of biomass, gas, and electric stoves across multiple geographies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Overlapping product category and customer base at significantly greater scale than CSP.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/thecookstoveproject
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/thecookstoveproject

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CookStove Project