Frequently Asked Questions

All of our active members work on a voluntary basis. Hence, 100% of the money flows into our projects.

The project idea is based on the simplest techniques that are part of everyday life in privileged countries. We work very closely and together with the local people and use the network already established by the Ofenbauprojekt to pass on knowledge and do not rely on state-of-the-art systems (for example, water pumps) whose repair is not possible due to a lack of know-how.

Until now, we have built nearly 400 ovens. 150 of them were built in 2020.

In the beginning, 40€ was necessary to build an oven. These costs have now reduced to 35€.

The ovens are built from two teams of locals which runs with our financial support.

Our clay ovens route toxic gases which are produced while cooking outwards through a chimney. By that, lung diseases can be prevented. Moreover, the design of our clay ovens protects from burns and saves firewood. At the moment, we’re working on evaluating our clay ovens to provide reliable data about health prevention and firewood savings.

This project is financed in cooperation with Rotary Club Aachen through a District Grand.

Currently, monocultures (primarily maize monocultures) and chemical fertilisers destroy soil structure and fertility. This results in insufficient harvesting, the scale of which increases gradually with each year. We want to break out of this negative spiral with the simplest means through plant diversity, mixed cultures and a fruit change. To this end, we are establishing a model field in which ecological and future-orientated catering will be demonstrated.

The concept is based on the structured division of the model field into 10m × 10m quadrants, on whose corners an anabaum (Faidherbia albida) is planted. The anabolic tree is able to fix nitrogen, absorb water from deeper soil layers and, through its leaves, additionally protect the soil from erosion. Within a quadrant, a mixed crop of maize (Zea), cassava (cassava) and the leguminous bush (Cajanus) or juckbean (Mucuna) is planted. Between the growing seasons, the soil quality is actively maintained with the help of Terra Preta.
If you have further questions about the concept, please do not hesitate to contact us!

Terra Preta is bio-coal, which contributes to the preservation and regeneration of soil quality. The pyrolysis system used to produce the coal is fed with harvesters, micro-organisms, and yeast, creating a low-cost, effective “superhumus” that can be used to process the fields. This fixes both carbon and stores water and nutrients.
Further information about Terra Preta can be found on the website of our project partner “RecyCoal”.

Small farmers must be willing to participate and have their own piece of land to benefit from the knowledge generated by the model field. A starter package including seed financing, knowledge transfer and first seedlings and seeds will be made available.

The seedlings of Faidherbia albida and the seeds for the plants are purchased from a local farmer. A seedling of the anabum (Faidherbia albida) costs 5€ with transport.

The field is managed by a local team, comparable to the team of the Ofenbauer.

In cooperation with the internationally active Catholic missionary organisation “MCSPA”, we establish ourselves in the curriculum of a local school and offer a cooking class by teaching proper cultivation, processing and preparation of the harvests.

Currently, we support ten students in cooperation with our partner MCSPA.

We support each student with 400€ per year.