Energy Efficient Stoves

The African Energy Efficient Stove Project builds energy saving cooking stoves for villages in Kenya. These brick stoves result in 50% reduction in the need for firewood and thereby prevent carbon from being emitted. In addition to carbon prevention it also provides families with a cost and time effective method to cook with. The reduced need for firewood helps to prevent deforestation, creating knock on benefits to the wildlife in terms of habitat, biodiversity and flood prevention.It is also a healthier method of cooking as it reduces in-door smoke by half. In-door smoke is a serious problem in Africa and the World Health Organisation dubbed it the “kitchen killer”, as it is responsible for nearly two million deaths in Africa every year.

Other co-benefits of the project include:

• Reduced deforestation and degradation of surrounding forests
• Reduced soil erosion, nutrient loss and risk of flooding
• Reduced cooking and wood collection time; householders can spend more time on other household tasks, as well as schooling and supervising children
• Reduced exposure of firewood collectors (mainly women) to hazards in remote areas
• Reduced burns and injuries from exposure to an open fire