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edit this page Stove Programmes in Kenya by Stephen Joseph  . |
A great deal of activity has been generated to help solve the fuelwood crisis in Kenya, as a result of the Nairobi Energy Conference in August, 1981. Both government and non-governmental organisations have initiated stove programmes. Charcoal is used extensively in urban and pert-urban regions and accounts for much of the stripping of forests in Kenya. Therefore, most of the activity has centred around the improvement of the existing charcoal-burning metal jiko. The jikos are made by tin smiths, who purchase scrap metal and fashion it into a very simple brazier. See Fig.1. There are two main problems with this stove design. During use the halls may reach a temperature of 300 degrees C which is dangerous to the user and a waste of heat. Secondly, the performance of the stove is relatively inefficient when compared to other charcoal stoves such as the Thai Bucket. At present two groups are attempting to design and disseminate improved metal jikos. They have tried to cut charcoal consumption and improve safety by insulating the combustion chamber.  . |
The Kenya Clay Stoves Working Group has developed three models, (See Fig. 2). The simplest model involves slipping an extruded clay cylinder into the existing jikos, the second consists of an inner clay cylinder, an outer metal cladding and an insulating layer of ashes added between the inner and outer layers. Both cylinders are extruded The third model is an adaptation of the Thai bucket. The inner clay liner is made on a pottery wheel and tapers inwards at the bottom. Tests are being carried out at the Kenyatta University College on both the existing and the new models of jiko stoves. On completion of these tests the group hopes to carry out field trials on all the models and the results will be published. About 2,000 of these stoves (all three models) will be introduced.  . |
Phil Hassrick of UNICEF has designed an improved jiko in which the pot sits into the stove. It has an outer metal cladding, a sloping inner combustion chamber and an ash layer between the inner and outer metal layers. The author questioned a user living in a village in Karai district, 30 kilometres from Nairobi, on the fuel efficiency of this jiko. She claimed that with the old jiko stove a bag of charcoal lasted three weeks: with the new UNICEF stove a bag 1asted two; months.
In the same district work has been carried out- by UNICEF on developing wood burning stoves. One of the two models being introduced, the Karai stove, Figure 3, was designed by a few local people. A group of 12 women construct these stoves on Wednesdays each week. The owner of the stove participates in the construction. It is an adaptation of a stove they had seen at the UNICEF Appropriate Technology Centre at Karen. It is made from mud, has two pot holes and a metal chimney which is surrounded by a water jacket. The user must contribute 100 shillings, about 3 U.S.$, towards the construction of the stove and UNICEF pays another 100 shillings as a subsidy. The author carried out tests on this stove two years ago and found that it used less wood than an open fire to heat water from 25 to 100 degrees C. Users seemed to think that the stove did save some wood but the main advantage was ease of use and the fact that there was less soot in the kitchen. The author feels that the fuelwood consumption of this stove could be reduced significantly by minor modifications. For example, placing a baffle underneath the second pot hole would increase the heat to the second pot.  . |
In the same village, Mr. Waclaw Micuta of the Bellerive Foundation, built demonstration stoves with grates and metal heating plates - the Pogbi (Figure 4) and the Nomad stove (Figure 5). Tests have indicated that these stoves could save a considerable amount of firewood. The stoves are built by local craftspeople and are transported to users houses. They cost 200 shillings. The author was unable to interview the owners of these stoves.  The Pogbi Stove |
 Nomad stove |
In the same village, Mr. Waclaw Micuta of the Bellerive Foundation, built demonstration stoves with grates and metal heating plates - the Pogbi (Figure 4) and the Nomad stove (Figure 5). Tests have indicated that these stoves could save a considerable amount of firewood. The stoves are built by local craftspeople and are transported to users houses. They cost 200 shillings. The author was unable to interview the owners of these stoves.  . |
Finally, another innovative metal stove (Figure 6), has been designed in Kenya by Maxwell Kinyanjui. It is being made by tinsmiths in Nairobi and Mombassa. The; stove can burn twigs and if it is used properly, it can produce charcoal from these twigs at the same time as cooking a meal.
[top] [end]Contents: Boiling Point 2  . |
BP2: News from Shinfield - BP2: Stove Programmes in Kenya - BP2: Fuelwood and Stoves in Zimbabwe - BP2: Strengthening Clay by Traditional Methods - BP2: Study of the Thai Charcoal Stove - BP2: Firewood Consumption Survey in Sri Lanka
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