04-02-2016 | di COOPI

SET4FOOD

"There can be no food security without having access to a source of fuel to heat and cook food": this is how the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs explains the precious relationship between food and energy, all the more relevant in crisis contexts, where thousands of people are forced to leave their homes because of conflict, violence or disasters and seek refuge and protection somewhere else.

The need to cook and preserve food in a way that makes it safe, healthy and nutritious is most evident in refugee camps and informal settlements where, according to the latest data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the number of people pouring in is increasing (from the second half of 2014, the people helped by the UNHCR amounted to 46.3 million, or 3.4 million more than at the end of 2013).

In this context, proper use of food is one of the pillars for achieving food security and a decent standard of living. To achieve this, energy is required. The use of appropriate technologies is the key to achieving effective and sustainable use of food.

To meet this need, COOPI, together with the Fondazione Politecnico di Milano and the Politecnico di Milano has developed the SET4food (Sustainable Energy Technologies for Food Utilization) project, in order to identify efficient and sustainable energy solutions for the use of food in refugee camps and informal settlements.

The project, funded by the European Commission (Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection), aims to strengthen the response capacity of humanitarian workers in the implementation and management of technologies that can ensure the availability of energy to be used for the preparation, cooking and storage of food in refugee camps around the world.

As part of the project, a decision support system was developed to identify the most appropriate technologies depending on the settlement (DDS) and guidelines on energy technologies for the use of food were created.

Pilot projects in four different countries (Central African Republic, Haiti, Somalia and Lebanon) are testing the DSS and innovative solutions. A series of workshops and public meetings will allow to share the results with the humanitarian sector. The next workshop will be held in Pavia from 4 to 5 June.

Finally, an open access e-learning platform will soon be available in English, French and Spanish, in order to train practitioners and operators about the use of DSS, and more generally to improve their knowledge on energy technologies for food use.

The project will be presented on July 20 at EXPO at Cascina Triulza, but already on June 12, at the Urban Center, SET4Food will be told to the public as one of the most significant examples in the field of food security.

All materials are available on youtube