Traditionally the rural communities of the Siaya region of western Kenya have cooked on open fires, which require huge amounts of firewood. Thanks to community savings and loaning (CSL) groups, however, women can now afford more efficient stoves. This reduces the demand for firewood and thus protects the local forests, which leads to reduced CO2 emissions. Furthermore the CSL groups lead to a financial and social empowerment of women. Besides using 40-50% less firewood than traditional fire pits, the construction of efficient cook stoves led to numerous advantages for the local communities. The efficient cook stoves enabled a superior and more efficient combustion process, which improved the air quality within the respective homes. 100% of people report less smoke, 97% have less eye irritations, 93% find it easier to breath, 84% report less coughing and 73% suffer less from headache. Besides improvements in environmental impact and health of women and children, the construction of the efficient cook stoves led to a social and economical development.

Project impacts and benefits (up to the end of 2014):

• More than 120 permanent jobs for the local community
• 121 artisans have been trained over the years (45% women)
• 22,000 cook stoves have been installed
• Over 900 community savings and loaning groups (CSL) have been created with 22,000 members (87% women)
• 99% of stoves were purchased through CFL mechanism
• Over 100,000 people benefit directly from better air and from having to spend less time for collecting firewood
• 8,436 KES saved per household per year (80 USD)
• 283 hours time saved per household per year 5 hours per week)
• Each stove avoids about 2,3 t CO2 and 1.4 to wood per year.

For more information about this project please contact Tobias Hoeck>>