Soneva, the world-leading luxury resort operator, has launched the Soneva Foundation's partnership with Cleaner Climate to raise funds to distribute fuel-efficient stoves to families in Myanmar through the Myanmar Stoves Project, according to a press release. Buyers of "stove credits" will be entered into a prize drawing for the chance to win one of three all-inclusive, five-night holidays at Soneva resorts in the Maldives, with the total prize value exceeding US$68,000.

Myanmar has one of the fastest rates of deforestation in the world, where most of the wood that is cut down is used for domestic cooking. Four million people die worldwide every year from household air pollution which is predominantly caused by burning fuel indoors to cook with. By using fuel-efficient stoves, families can reduce their wood consumption by 50% and save 2.5 tons of wood per year, reduce the smoke and soot pollution by 80%, and reduce their carbon emissions by 60% as a direct result of cutting down less trees.

The Myanmar Stoves Project is the first Gold Standard Foundation certified carbon project in Myanmar. The "stove credits," also known as carbon credits, are the emission reduction equivalent of one ton of carbon dioxide. The sale of carbon credits provides the necessary funding required to scale this project, while simultaneously reducing future deforestation, air pollution-related health risks and carbon dioxide emissions. Over the next five years, the Soneva Foundation plans to distribute fuel-efficient stoves to more than 200,000 families, reaching almost one million rural Myanmar residents. To date, more than 20,000 stoves have already been deployed.