Every morning and evening, millions of women in Kenya spend time cooking for the families. Most of the families prepare their meals over a smoky, 3-stone open fire. The stoves burn a mix of wood, hay, or cow dung that the women collect from around their homes or, at times, far from the safety of their villages. Everyone from the women cooking their meals to international health experts—knows the smoke from the fires has a dark side.
Most women say the smoke from 3-stone open fire irritates their eyes and blackens their pots and kitchen walls. Climatologists such as Veerabhadran Ramanathan, a professor at the University of California, notes that the black carbon (soot) from the smoke, which blankets the villages, contributes to anthropogenic climate change. Health experts report that smoke exposure increases the risk of numerous respiratory diseases.
Last month Co2balance and World Vision Kenya launched distribution of energy efficient cook stoves in Nakuru and Baringo Counties in Kenya with a momentum for change. The launch is a testimony that action has started to take place. It’s factual that the use of efficient cook stoves can dramatically reduce fuel consumption, associated deforestation, carbon dioxide release as well as the social, economic and health impacts of collecting firewood and smoke related illnesses from traditional indoor cooking. Thus this is as an appropriate approach to helping the poor improve their lives, restore our ecosystems whilst at the same time adapting to climate change. The aim of this launch was to gather momentum, to gain momentum and to add momentum into the fight against climate change initiatives.
Bringing community members on board from the onset has proved fruitful as it has helped understand the cooking needs of the people and the most social and cultural requirements that make a cook stove acceptable by people. This is a special moment for both co2balance and World Vision where we are looking at practical examples of how to reduce our emissions, adapt to climate change, overcome poverty and promote development, all at the same time from a local perspective.
The project aims at delivering concrete results on climate change mitigation, with social, economic and health benefits. The event was a great success with community members and project participant’s alike, providing positive feedback on the experience, inspirations and lessons learnt from the launch.