"This eco-stove is easy to cook and works with a small amount of firewood. It is also safe from fire. It is lightweight and easy to carry around. It needs less firewood and significantly reduces the usage of firewood, compared to my old open fire stove," said Daw Aye Aye Myint, a villager from Thit Poke Kone village in Labutta township.

A total of twenty community forest demonstrations established under the Sustainable Cropland and Forest Management in Priority Agro-ecosystems of Myanmar (SLM project) have become operational since 2020. The SLM project continues its support to the households of community forest user groups (CFUGs), such as the provision of nursery construction materials and personal safety equipment and tools in Delta and tree seedlings in Central Dry Zone and Chin Hills. To strengthen the operational capacity of CFUGs and improve the adoption of sustainable forest management practices, the project distributed eco stoves, ultra-durable wood stoves that last for years in rural environments. She also received an eco-stove and has been using it for nine months.

She has two daughters, one is 13, and the other is 11. Her husband mainly works on mud crab farming. "My husband catches the crabs, and I tie the crabs to sell. We are landless and also work as casual labor on plantations and harvest on other people's farms" explained Daw Aye Aye Myint about their jobs. Because their incomes are not regular, they need to work as casual laborers.

Her husband is one of the CFUG members, and she received an eco stove. Most of the people in this area use the open fire stove, which is made of three big bricks. And it consumes a lot of firewood. "My house is a wooden house, and we always need to worry about the fire starting from the open fire stove. Since we switched to this eco-stove, things get much better, easier, and safer. It uses less firewood and works in strong winds. It is also lightweight and easy to carry. If there is a sick person in my neighborhood who can't stand the cooking smell, we can move the stove to another place easily. Even my children can use it to help us when we have no time to cook. I don't dare ask them to use the local stove," she shared her experience with the stove.

They are poor and usually collect firewood in the mangrove forest. They need three boatloads of firewood every month for cooking. Currently, they use both an eco-stove and a local open fire stove. "These days, commodity prices are getting higher than before. If this eco-stove is damaged, we cannot afford a new one, and the cash is reserved for buying food. To get a longer lifespan of the eco stove, we have to use both stoves in rotation. The longer we can use the eco stove, the lesser firewood we will need, which will reduce the harvesting of firewood in the mangrove forest. The lesser we harvest, the better the mangrove forest," said Daw Aye Aye Myint. Her neighbor villagers are also interested in using this kind of eco-stove to reduce firewood usage.

The project first distributed a total of 2 325 eco-stoves in 2020 at Labutta, Nyaung-U, and Kyaukpadaung townships. The second distribution of 3 900 eco stoves was made in 2021, Bogalay township was included. The SLM's assessment of the first distribution of these eco stoves indicates that the beneficiary households are highly satisfied with its fuel efficiency, durability, easiness to use, and subsequent benefits of reducing Greenhouse gas emissions. Some households using the eco stove regularly reported that they could reduce up to 75% of monthly fuelwood consumption. They also think that greater use of these fuel-efficient eco-stoves will also help them to reduce dependency on the forest for fuel. More households in these villages are interested to use it as they become aware of climatic benefits and contributions to reducing forest degradation and improving their daily livelihoods.