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Institutional Stoves in Kenya: The present and the future by Dominic Walubengo
In November 1984 KENGO carried out a quick survey in several schools, hospitals, colleges and prisons to study the fuel needs and conditions of the kitchens of these institutions. The survey concluded that Kenyan institutions consume a lot of woodfuel and that if a more efficient cooking stove were available, the present level of woodfuel consumption could be lowered. The institutions would then spend less money on purchasing fuel and use this money to improve the living conditions , of the boarders. An average institution providing services to 300 people daily, required to use wood for cooking and heating water may use between 50 and 70 tonnes of wood every month. This wood costs about Ksh 200 per tonne. Thus, for a 9 month school year, such an institution would need between Ksh. 90,000 and Ksh. 126,000 to purchase wood only. This may represent up to 15% of the total budget at these institutions. Fees may be raised so that the poor can no longer afford to send children to school. High fuel costs affect the kitchen budget adversely: this may lead to poor nutrition resulting from inadequate or reduced food preparation. It was with the foregoing in mind that the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), of Canada funded a research programme at KENGO in an effort to improvre the performance of the woodstoves being used in Kenyan institutions.: The programme is to run for two years starting May 1985 and it is being carried' out in two phases. Phase one (12 months) - Data collection and testing; Phase two (12 months) - design and testing of an improved woodstove. The first phase of the project is now over (May 1986). This involved carrying out a survey of wood fuel use in institutions, visiting these institutions and monitoring the 'performance of their stoves and testing several woodstoves in the laboratory. From this first phase, design criteria will be identified and an improved woodstove will be introduced. The survey showed that there are two main types of stoves used by institutions:
Most institutions which had a 'modern' stove e.g. gas or electricity, always maintained an open fire on standby. The Bellerive Foundation has come up with a 'Bellerive' stove which burns wood. This stove has an efficiency of 25.8% heat utilised and is more comfortable to use in the kitchen as it does not radiate much heat. The Alfa-laval and the Bellerive stoves are a great improvement on the open fire. Nevertheless, these stoves have not spread widely among the institutions because 'a dissemination strategy does not exist. Another factor that has affected the dissemination of these stoves is their prices. They may cost up to Ksh. 18,000 each. An institution feeding 600 people may require up to six of these stoves and so their cost is prohibitive. The two stoves can be compared:
It is the main aim of the KENGO research team that they come up with a stove which has got some features of both these stoves. KENGO also hopes to improve the kitchens of the institutions: the survey has shown that many of these kitchens are make-shift, poorly ventilated and full of unnecessary equipment. The users of woodfuel stoves (or indeed any other stoves) need to be educated on simple ways of saving energy. KENGO's survey has shown that although the heads of the institutions are aware of the fact that energy should and can be conserved, they have not made any effort to ensure that the cooks know this. Thus, many cooks don't let the food simmer once it has boiled: they feed the stove with more fuel and have the food boiling violently; they don't place lids on the pots while cooking - even when lids are available. The cooks don't tend the fire properly; so the cooking takes too long. Quite often the chimneys are never cleaned; the ash box is not emptied regularly and large pieces of wood are fed into the firebox. In conclusion: It is estimated that institutions in Kenya consume 3% of the total wood fuel consumption in the country. The population of these institutions is growing at the rate of 7% per year. It is imperative that they use fuel saving devices for cooking and heating. [top] [end]Contents: Boiling Point 10: Institutional and Community Stoves
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30 September 2008; Last edited:
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