Madagascar Improved Cook Stove Project by KCM-Wood#CPA-W-022

Audit Analysis

A VCS cookstove project in Madagascar with VVB-confirmed additionality and a quantified 5% leakage deduction, but undermined by a recent monitoring report indicating FPIC was not conducted, seven material findings requiring nine corrective actions, and a project-specific baseline. The 15-year stove lifetime claim and a 92% forest-energy statistic both lacked adequate references, raising questions about the robustness of the underlying assumptions.

Project Description

Red Flags

• ⚠The most recent monitoring report (2025-12-20) states FPIC was NOT conducted, contradicting an earlier monitoring report (2025-01-31) that indicated it was; the more recent document is privileged, leaving a serious free, prior, and informed consent gap for a project distributing stoves to Malagasy households.
• ⚠Seven material findings were raised in the verification report, including non-compliance with VCS Standard Section 3.22.6 on project bundling, missing KML file, unprorated ERR vintages, and an unreferenced claim that 92% of household energy comes from forests; nine corrective actions were mandated.
• ⚠The 15-year stove lifetime and thermal efficiency figures required additional explanation and references, yet no buffer pool percentage is stated in the extracted record, leaving permanence risk for stove replacement cycles partially unaddressed.

Credit Vintages