On Thursday 8th May, CO2balance travelled to the World Vision office in Wema, Nakuru to train 30 local data collectors in conducting baseline kitchen surveys and kitchen performance tests for the World Vision Gold Standard Cookstove VPAs in Wema and Mogotio; both VPAs will be included under CO2balance’s recently registered GS1366 Micro Energy PoA and aim to facilitate access to improved cookstoves through existing micro finance institutions and designated community groups.
In addition to carrying out the baseline training, it was also a great opportunity to talk to the local community who demonstrated a keen interest in the project and were eager to share their thoughts. Apart from concerns related to the adverse health impacts of three stone fires many of the people we spoke to were particularly worried about the environmental impacts of deforestation. Pointing to the surrounding scrub-land and barren hillsides, one of the community members mentioned how the entire area used to be covered in forest. Others noted that deforestation has led to changing weather patterns and a reduction in rainfall,which in turn effects agricultural production. Based on the discussion we had, it is evident that the dissemination of clean cookstoves which reduce fuel consumption by around 50% will have multiple long-term benefits for the community in terms of sustainable development and wellbeing.
With regard to the baseline studies, World Vision have since informed us that the surveys are already well underway and that everything is running according to plan. Come end of week all the data will have been collected and soon to be returned to CO2balance for analysis. We are grateful for World Vision’s ongoing support in ensuring that the surveys are carried out to the highest standards and look forward to moving ahead with the next steps towards Gold Standard registration.