Mama Angel lives in Kisumu County, Kajulu sub location along Kisumu Miwani road, where she is married with two children. Initially she was a house wife and depended entirely on her husband for financial support, which was kind of hectic since the husband works as a nursery school teacher at a nearby school. She narrates that previously she was using a tradition three stone stove for cooking and this stove literally colonized her unknowingly to the extent that she could spend close to three to four hours daily in the bushes looking for firewood. She adds that the three stone was very expensive as it used to consume a lot of wood fuel. I did not have time to do other activities that would increase our income. “As a mother I did not have time to do other things to benefit my family rather than looking for firewood and spend the rest of the time struggling to cook, the three stone stove simply halted my other life, it just made me a slave minus my knowledge.”
She further narrates that besides wasting too much time looking for firewood the three stone stove had other devastating disadvantages. “I used to cough a lot; the smoke was unbearable always having a running nose while in the kitchen. But ever since I got the artisan cook stove, my life has never been the same again, No more tears while cooking as there is no smoke in the kitchen any more, soot on the cooking pot, No soot on the wall, the coughing is unheard off. This stove is also mobile I can move with it and still cook. It’s sad that I took long before realizing that the three stone stove was a really pulling me down, but now am happy.’’
She adds “this artisanal stove is very efficient and uses little fuel. Look at the amount of fuel being used now; I use less than a quarter of what I used to while with the three stone. The artisanal stove has really seen my life change a lot; I wish I bought it earlier.”
She further narrates that currently she is able to save time and engage in other economic activities to raise more income for their family. She says that now she is involved with other women in a women group that has enabled her engaged in economic development activities unlike before.
Compiled by; Christine Atira and Moses Maina