About us | Microsol🌎

Microsol was established more than a decade ago with the purpose to create a powerful link between communities worldwide to help them become more sustainable and face the challenges of climate change.

Communities in some parts of the world face extreme weather and unpredictable seasonal patterns – all intensified by the climate crisis. These vulnerable communities often lack the necessary resources to mitigate their own environmental impact putting their lives at risk.

Communities in different parts of the world are becoming more conscious and concerned about our warming planet. These committed communities look for innovative ways to contribute further to lower our global footprint.

Our Mission

Promote the exchange and collaboration between communities from around the world to develop sustainable actions that will help them face the challenge of climate change.

Our Vision

Live in a world where there are sustainable, inclusive, and resilient communities, ready to face the challenges of climate change.

Our Story

Our story begins back in 2008 when we conducted a private study targeting vulnerable communities in the highlands of Peru, 2000m above sea level. A significant proportion of these rural communities still cook on open stoves with biomass, putting a tremendous strain on their health and the environment. Implementing improved cookstoves (ICS) based on these needs proved to be an ideal solution. This technology uses less firewood, fewer carbon emissions are produced, all while expelling toxic fumes outside the users´ homes.

After validating this solution on the field with a small pilot project, we used carbon finance as a way to replicate and grow the project to include more families in the project. This is how the Qori Q’oncha programme is created and becomes the first improved cookstoves programme introduced to the global voluntary carbon market. After identifying a similar need for improved cookstoves in rural communities from Mexico and Central America, we shared our experience and implemented our second programme, Utsil Naj, in 2012. Since then we´ve helped many more project developers achieve carbon financing through the sale of carbon credits. By selling these credits on the international carbon market, Microsol finances the sustainability of our projects.

Based on our experience in carbon certification, we provide technical assistance to different organisations to help them design and implement their energy efficiency or climate action projects. Recently, Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMO) has become our new area of focus. In 2019, the Peruvian and Swiss governments managed to reach a series of agreements that paved the way to establish a Pilot project. In this context, Microsol was chosen by the Swiss organisation Climate Cent Foundation (CCF) to implement the “Tuki Wasi” Project, which could potentially lead to the first ITMO generated by improved cookstoves worldwide.

We expect to have the first results of the pilot by the end of 2021. Our goal after is to develop a large-scale programme based on the results and findings of the first pilot.

Timeline

2007

An anthropological study was carried out to identify the needs and customs of rural families in Peru

2008

The “Qori Q’oncha” programme is created in Peru to value the impact of improved cook stoves on the voluntary carbon market.

2010

Qori Q’oncha becomes the first programme of improved cookstoves to be registered by the Gold Standard (GS) worldwide.

2012

The “Utsil Naj” programme is created in Central America and Mexico.

2014

The first carbon credits of the Utsil Naj programme are issued. It is then certified by the GS the following year.

2016

Comparative study for the Climate & Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) on the state of rural cooking practices (progress and challenges) in Mexico, Colombia and Peru.