A Community Cooker is a waste-to-energy technology that burns rubbish environmentally correctly to provide heat energy for cooking, baking and boiling water. The Pirates Self Help Youth Group is made up of 30 reformed criminals who offer waste management services for Mathare, and also provide access to clean water and sanitary services. A Community Cooker will responsibly dispose of rubbish not recyclable and generate an income, providing more sustainability for the group.
The Pirates Youth Group have many projects - raising pigs, a tree nursery, a hall they renovated and rent out, collecting and recycling of waste, providing washrooms and clean water - all in order to be self-sustaining. But they struggle with earning enough funds. The Pirates burn most un-sellable rubbish in open fires which releases harmful toxins in the air, and the dumpsite still has too much litter making it a potential environmental hazard which upsets the local residents.
Rubbish to Energy = Value! The Community Cooker burns waste at 800-1200 degrees centigrade and meets the US emission standards for municipal solid waste incineration. Using the Cooker to burn the unwanted rubbish, the Pirates Youth Group will reduce the dumpsite and keep the air clean. The Cooker will provide them with boiled water and they will hire out cooking time to local restaurants and community groups providing them with not only a cheaper way to cook but also a cleaner cooking space.
This project will help Pirates Youth to generate enough income to expand their centre and start a feeding programme for vulnerable children in their community. The land and air will be cleaner because of burning the unwanted waste within emission standards. The tree nursery will flourish as local residents will stop cutting down many of their trees for cooking fuel. A Community Cooker burns half a ton of rubbish a day and when operated for one year will save approximately 3000 mature trees!
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
