- Kioli said the improved cooking stove from Maendeleo Jiko and Jikokoa uses minimal charcoal.
- He emphasised the need for concerted and serious interventions to protect the environment and forests.
Image: FILE
Green Africa Foundation has embarked on an initiative to promote the use of clean energy for cooking in rural Kenya.
Communities in rural areas are being inducted on how to take up the technology to control destruction to the environment and mitigate against climate change.
Speaking in Kitui on Wednesday, GAF executive director John Kioli said the training involves imparting skills on how to use modern jikos to minimise the use of charcoal and wood.
Kioli said the improved cooking stove from Maendeleo Jiko and Jikokoa uses minimal charcoal.
He added that the community members are also being trained on the use of electric pressure cookers that use less electricity, biogas, solar energy and charcoal briquettes.
Mary Katee, a beneficiary of the initiative said the energy-saving jikos have helped her family in bringing down the cost of cooking.
Rachael Mwangangi, an environmental expert working with Kitui county said clean cooking technologies were the most ideal for the rural population.
"The benefit is that mothers will spend less time collecting firewood and will have sufficient time to do other household duties," Mwangangi said.
Kioli, who is also the chairman of Kenya Climate Change Working Group said 80 per cent of Kenyans still use firewood as a key source of energy for cooking.
He said the reliance on wood fuel results in serious destruction of forests and the environment.
He lamented that rural areas have borne the brunt of wanton destruction of forests as 80 per cent of all the charcoal produced in Kenya, mainly originates from arid and semi-arid areas.
He emphasised the need for concerted and serious interventions to protect the environment and forests.
"GAF is stepping in to train Kenyans, especially those in rural areas on how to use less firewood and charcoal. We are inculcating sustainable use to ensure there is no destruction to the environment," Kioli said.
He said modern jikos are beneficial to users as they produce less smoke emissions hence reducing the risk of respiratory diseases.
"The initiative is aimed at enabling people to cook faster, efficiently and at minimal costs," he said.
He further, regretted that three per cent of Kenya's Gross Domestic Product went into mitigating climate change.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)