Partners’ Work in Kenya Showcased on Observation and Learning Trip
The Alliance hosted its second Observation Trip to Kenya for partners and supporters last month. The five day trip offered participants a broad overview of Kenya’s clean cookstove and fuels sector with particular emphasis on showcasing the sector’s growth and innovation.
The Alliance welcomed its newest Chef Corps member Pati Jinich, who joined attendees from the bilateral, multilateral, and corporate sectors to meet and talk with local stakeholders working to expand the market for cookstoves and fuels. Chef Susan Kamau, a Kenya-based Alliance Chef Corps member, also accompanied participants and provided invaluable insight into her family’s personal experience with cooking over traditional cookstoves. Some of the many highlights of the observation trip included visits to:
- Rural households and artisanal production centers in Murang’a;
- BURN Manufacturing’s production facility;
- The Kenya office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); and
- Kenya Industrial Research & Development Institute’s (KIRDI) Cookstoves and Fuels Testing Center.
Throughout the trip, the Alliance hosted speakers, partners, and stakeholders to provide participants detailed background on their respective efforts to support the clean cooking mission, which included, but were not limited to:
- A presentation by Dr. Joseph Wanjeri, a reconstructive surgeon affiliated with the University of Nairobi;
- A discussion with Faith Odongo, Deputy Director of Renewable Energy of Kenya’s Ministry of Energy & Petroleum;
- A presentation with Janet Macharia, Senior Gender Advisor of the United Nations Environment Programme in Kenya;
- An informal roundtable discussion on financing within the sector with Veronica Karoki of Kenya Women Microfinance Bank, or KWFT, and Sam Grant of Equity Bank; and
- A discussion with representatives of the Clean Cookstoves Association of Kenya (CCAK), including the Chairman Mr. Jechoniah Kitala.
Participants came away from the successful trip with a keener understanding of Kenya’s cookstoves and fuels sector, a strong sense of urgency about the deadly issue of smoke from the use of solid fuels and traditional cookstoves, and the role of the Alliance and its partners in promoting clean cooking for better health and environmental outcomes.
The Alliance will host the next Observation and Learning Trip in Ghana in October. Please email partnerships@cleancookstoves.org to learn more.