The Prisons Department is converting human waste into charcoal briquettes to reduce spending on firewood from Sh1 billion to Sh300 million annually.
It has already started producing hygienic charcoal briquettes from poop.
Inmates will process the briquettes for internal use and sale in a programme with private entrepreneurs.
Two weeks ago, the department announced plans to rehabilitate prison sewer systems and eliminate the use of buckets where inmates relieve themselves.
PS for Correctional Services Zeinab Hussein said on Wednesday Naivasha and Nakuru had been identified as the pilot towns for the briquettes project.
Speaking during a tour of Naivasha GK Prison, Hussein said the state is paying far too much for firewood in prisons.
“Every year we are using over Sh1 billion to buy firewood but by converting waste into briquettes we shall save over Sh700 million annually," she said.
As the ban on logging is still in force the shift from firewood to briquettes is ideal.
“The amount of firewood used in prisons is enormous and we need to change this," she said.
The PS said the pilot project would be carried at the two prisons in Nakuru and three in Naivasha.
Hussein said they had visited two private institutions in Naivasha and Nakuru where human waste and sawdust were used to manufacture hygienic briquettes. They were favourably impressed.
She added that they were keen to borrow the technology from the investors and use it in selected prisons.
“As part of the ongoing reforms, we are keen to improve sanitation in all the penal institutions and address the issues of hygiene for mothers and their children in prisons,” she said.
Two weeks ago, CAS Winnie Guchu in the State Law Office said the number of cases of diarrhoea and pneumonia in prisons were worrying.
She said the department was keen to overhaul the waste management system and learn from private companies.
“We are concerned by the many cases of cases in the prisons and we are keen to end the use of buckets by inmates by introducing new sewer systems,” Guchu said.
(Edited by V. Graham)
