GS1247 VPA 63 Improved Kitchen Regimes: Kayonza District Borehole Project, Rwanda

Audit Analysis

This Gold Standard borehole/kitchen-efficiency project in Rwanda shows moderate MRV activity but significant documentation gaps: no additionality test is recorded in the extracted files, no VVB is identified, and the baseline is project-specific with no reassessment on file. Multiple borehole breakdowns in 2017 were flagged as material findings, and the 0% leakage deduction rests on a thin 'deemed negligible' justification for a project whose core mechanism is household behavioral change. The verified ERR figure substantially exceeds the per-period claimed figure, which is favorable for claim safety but introduces data-reliability questions.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠No additionality test type or VVB confirmation found in any extracted document — a fundamental requirement for Gold Standard projects is unverified in the available record
• ⚠Seven boreholes experienced temporary breakdowns in 2017 (material findings in the monitoring report), indicating operational fragility of the project infrastructure
• ⚠Crediting period stated as 2015-12-10 to 2022-12-10 in the 2021 monitoring report but 2016-08-19 to 2023-08-18 in the PDD (2018) — an unresolved discrepancy that affects the pro-rata ERR calculation
• ⚠0% leakage deduction justified only as 'deemed negligible' in a project whose additionality depends on sustained household behavior change
• ⚠No VVB name identified in any document, undermining the independence and verifiability of the verification process

Credit Vintages