Smokeless stoves saving lives in 1,250 households

Thank you so much for your support of this project providing smokeless cooking stoves to families and communities in Kenya.

Last month, a group of volunteers from Ireland (and Australia!) got the opportunity to roll up their sleeves and support the installation of stoves during their time in Kenya.  The volunteers really enjoyed the experience.  They were amazed that something with such a life changing impact can be made to happen in a relatively short time and with tremendous team effort.

Installation is a messy job as the stove is built using mud made with soil from the garden.  The chimney is the game-changer as it extracts the smoke from the kitchen.  It is made locally out of tin pieces that are put together at the site of the installation, then a hole is cut through the iron sheet roof and the chimney is sealed onto the roof using more mud. The design of the stove is very specific and the trained installer has a very important role to play in making sure the stove is built to work correctly. 

All the neighbours call in to see what is happening and on the days the volunteers were helping there were plenty of visitors curious to meet them and have a chat. 

A survey is completed with the householder on the day the stove is installed and another 6 months later. It includes questions about the health of the household and money and time spent on gathering firewood.  Recent results, from 1,046 surveys carried out 6 months after the stoves were installed, found that 98% of families surveyed had not experienced any respiratory illness since the stove installation, they also said there were no eye infections, their children didn’t suffer from any burns and their kitchens were smoke free.

97% of households reported an increase in their household income.  This is because the stoves use 2/3 less wood than the traditional open fires, saving money and time spent collecting the firewood. That allows more time to focus on income generating projects allowing households to pay for school fees, save for the future, buy seed and fertiliser, invest in their farms and expand their business'. 

The life changing impact of the stoves you have supported contribute not only to better health but also contribute to a higher standard of living.

If you would like to donate again, please mark Giving Tuesday November 28^th on your calendar.  The more money we can raise on that day the more we earn in bonus funds from GlobalGiving. 

Thank you so much for your support of this project. Just half a day, some bricks, mud, sawdust, water, a chimney and a trained installer and households are transformed with smokeless cooking stoves.

Earlier this month a visitor from Ireland tried her hand at stove installing.  Denise is a student of International Development at University College Cork, on placement with Brighter Communities Worldwide.  On a visit to Kenya, she tagged along with staff member Beatrice, stove installer Rehema and a local community health volunteer for a day to help with stove installations.  

Here is Denise’s account of the day.  “ We collected the chimneys needed from the office and took them with us to walk to the households preparing for stove installations.  The families had removed the open fires they had been using, prepared the area and provided bricks, mud and sawdust before we arrived.  Rehema began by measuring out the floor area and the height of the stove.  I helped soak the bricks in water and carry them into the house.  Rehema put them in place and explained the structure of the stove and how it works.

Meanwhile, outside the mother of the house was preparing mud using soil from the garden and mixing with water to create a mud like clay.  This was the mortar we used between the bricks and also used to smear the outside when the structure was finished.  Each stove is made to measure to fit the sufria, large saucepan, the family use for cooking.  If cracks appear over time, the mother of the house was shown how to fix them using more mud to fill them in.

The walls inside were blackened by smoke and the smell of smoke was really strong.    When the chimney was put into place, some sticks and papers were lit in the stove to check the chimney was ‘drafting’ properly.  We all went outside to look up at the roof and as soon as smoke appeared from the chimney there was singing and dancing in celebration.

We installed 2 stoves with Rehema that day.  The mother in the first house had 5 children and her husband is living with a disability.  She said she loves the stove because it keeps the smoke away.  She was very excited to show her neighbours and she thanks Brighter Communities Worldwide for making this life changing event happen for her and her family. The mother living in the second house was a widow and she had taken one of her children to the hospital so we didn’t meet them”.

Links:

• Video record of Denise's stove installation