Why this Project is Important

Potential Long Term Impact

Reducing the use of firewood and kerosene for fuel in the rural home will free time and money for use in other development activities, while safeguarding the environment. The training will provide another source of income for the rural woman.

Project Message

“Our women spend a lot of time and energy in search of firewood and yet our area is very dry. Solar energy cookers and other appliances would reduce their burden and help them to earn cash.”
- Mrs. Martha Nthenge, change agent in rural community with deforestation

Who is Running This Project

Contact

Sara Koki Kinagwi,
Acting Director
AMREF Building, Wilson Airport, Langata Road
P. O. BOX 27576
Nairobi, 00506
Kenya
254-20-609520, 60465
Email:

Project Sponsor

The Tech Museum Awards

Organization

Learn more about AfriAfya and the project team.

Where this Project is Located

Country

This project is located in Kenya and can also be found under Environment.

For more information about Kenya, read the Human Development Report on Kenya or the Wikipedia entry for Kenya.

When this Project was Updated

Last Updated

This project was last updated on August 06, 2008.

Date Added to GlobalGiving

This project was added to the GlobalGiving project catalog on October 07, 2005.

Latest Update from the Field

Solar Energy For Cooking Fuel Project – August 2008

By Dr Koki Muli-Kinagwi - Ag Director, AfriAfya, August 06, 2008 06:15 PM

The previous solar cooking demonstration was conducted on Thursday the 20th of September 2007 to a group of 45 women in Mitaboni location, Machakos District in Eastern Province of Kenya. Jacqueline and Rose who are Solar Cooking Representatives (SCOREPS) and Stella Odaba of Solar Cookers International in partnership with AfriAfya conducted the demonstration. After the demonstration, six cookits were donated to group leaders from the participants present.

This constituted the first phase of the project whereby beneficiaries are introduced to the technology. The next phase involved training local representatives drawn from the 15 Community based organizations (CBO’s) on the production of Cookits. The purpose of this training is to equip these women with skills to enable them promote solar cooking among community members as well as basic entrepreneurial skills to enable the new SCOREPS start cookits business. This training can now be conducted as additional funds of $878.21 were received this year thanks to you all. The training will take two (2) days and we anticipate having about thirty (30) Mitaboni women being trained.

During one of our field activities we identified another area where solar cooking technology would be ideal. This area is called Kilibasi and is located about 514 kilometers from Nairobi towards the Coastal Region, Southwest Kenya. Kilibasi was once a forest but due to charcoal burning vast lands have been reduced to deplorable state with little or no vegetation. In this region there is one (1) primary school whose student population density is dependent on the availability of lunch. When the school administration can afford to have lunch served the number of students can rise to about 500 and when there is none it drops to even 150 students. The lunch served is sometimes plain rice or crushed maize. The head teacher explained that the older girls in upper primary have to miss some lessons so that they can cook for the rest of the school.

The solar cooking technology would be excellent for this region and specifically for the school as it’s generally a hot and dry place. Also as the technology is such that the food is set in the sun and left to cook, the girls will be free to continue with the day’s lessons without interruption. When we get additional funds from you, we will take the solar cooking demonstration to Kilibasi Primary School and proceed to donate the cookits to them. We also hope to make a training video on the production and use of cookits that can be used to tutor similar groups.

We thank all our donors for making this additional training possible and a comprehensive update with plenty of pictures will be made soon after this training scheduled for 18th to 22nd August 2008.

Empowering these women with new skills will not only help them to prepare meals for their families, but will also help free up time spent looking for firewood for other life-improving activities. Also, providing solar cooking for the school at Kilibasi will ensure that the children get an education and at least one meal a day.

But for this to happen, we do need your help. So please keep those funds coming.

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