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The Women and Energy Project for stove dissemination in Kenya: crossing the sustainability bridge


Table of Contents

Boiling Point
Front cover of Boiling Point issue 39
Issue 39 (1997) Using biomass residues for energy
ArticleThe 'Women and Energy Project' for stove dissemination in Kenya: crossing the sustainability bridge
AuthorJames Muriithi

[top] [end]Background

The 'Women and Energy Project' was initiated in 1983 as part of the Special Energy Programme of the Ministry of Energy, with financial and technical assistance from the German Technical Co-operation agency (GTZ).

The overall aim of the project was to improve the living and working conditions of the rural population and of rural women in particular by:
  • reducing fuelwood requirements through the introduction of energy-efficient wood-burning stoves
  • improving fuelwood availability through systematic firewood production by the women themselves
The years 1983-86 were devoted to research and testing of stove prototypes suitable for Kenya's rural households. Two prototypes emerged:
  • the Maendeleo stove, a clay stove with a ceramic liner permanently installed in the kitchen
  • the Maendeleo portable stove, a portable metal stove with a ceramic liner
(Maendeleo is a kiswahili word meaning development).

The years 1987-88 were devoted to developing and testing stove production methods and dissemination strategies. From the end of 1988 onwards, the project concentrated its efforts on refining and consolidating the stove production process.

The last phase of the project (consolidation phase) was in 1993 - 4. Efforts were concentrated on infrastructure development for the production centres, training and quality control, awareness creation, promotion of marketing, and monitoring of these activities. In December 1994, the project was handed over to the Ministry of Energy.

[top] [end]Project Achievements

[top] [end]Production

Twenty-nine production centres were established, with 23 belonging to women's groups and 6 to individual entrepreneurs. Eighteen of the centres have wood-fired catenary arch kilns and three have round down-draught kilns.

Number of production centres Monthly output of liners
2 900-1200
3 500-600
10 300-400
8 100-200
6 below 50

Another twelve potential production centres either failed to start or failed as soon as they had been set up.

[top] [end]Dissemination

The total number of stoves disseminated by the end of 1994 was as follows:

Year Number of stoves
1985-88 26,000
1989-92 87,446
1993 29,813
January-June 1994 16,241
July-December 1994 (estimate) 13,926
Total 173,926
Stoves from collaborating agencies 36,861
Overall total 210,307

  • estimate, as project was coming to an end; the projected figure for 1993-94 was 60,000.
Between 1989 and 1994, stoves were mostly disseminated through the efforts of the home economic officers of the Ministry of Agriculture. Training was given to 120 of the 235 stockists identified as market outlets for the producers.

[top] [end]Project sustainability

With all the above efforts, the big question was whether the project would become self-sustainable. Would it be able to continue on its own without any external input?

A marketing study done in March 1996 revealed that the producers were very dependent on the home economic officers. It was they who initiated the process of linking producers to market outlets (stockists or shopkeepers), but these links were found to be unsustainable because of the high costs associated with transporting stove liners.

Unfortunately, the changes required to make the producers take over the marketing of the stoves could not be accomplished as the project funding was coming to an end.

[top] [end]Stoves marketing training

In 1995, GTZ set aside study funds for training producers, especially women's groups, in management and marketing. The training focused on:
  • introduction to market management
  • product costing and pricing
  • production management
  • introduction to salesmanship
Due to limited funds, not all the women's groups producing the stove liners could be trained. Out of the 33 centres visited in a follow-up assessment, the 10 best were selected for the training. Efforts were made to ensure that at least one centre from each of the provinces in which the project had activities was included.

To cater for individual entrepreneurs, three managers from three centres were invited to attend the training sessions held near their establishments.
Figure 1: Members of a group inspecting a catenary arch kiln
Figure 1: Members of a group inspecting a catenary arch kiln


After training, two follow-up visits were made to each training group at intervals of two months to assess the changes and assist the group where necessary.

[top] [end]Results

[top] [end]Marketing strategies

  • Eight groups responded to the training recommendation that the cost of the stove liner should be determined by material costs, labour input, depreciation on capital investments and a marketing cost.
  • Two groups have started paying a commission to the stockists to see if it is an incentive to stock their products.
  • Three groups are making efforts in placing signposts at strategic points to advertise their activities.

[top] [end]Transport of liners

  • All groups are relying on public transport to transport liners to markets. Within the neighbourhood, the liners are transported by members on their heads or backs.
  • Two groups have started using a bicycle and another one has started using hand-carts.
  • Transport in general is still the major constraint in marketing.

[top] [end]Other achievements

  • Except for two groups which had large stocks of liners before training started, all the other groups stepped up their production performance.
  • Two groups which had stopped production, due to quality control and firing problems in one instance and to organizational problems in the other, resumed with impressive progress.
  • One group organized and held a course on production and firing using its own funds. A member of a group from another district was invited as the trainer. The total cost of the training was Ksh 1960 (54Ksh = $1US). This shows the group's commitment to the project work.
  • Two groups held elections and the new management committee are doing well.
Figure 2: Members of a youth group with the stove liners
Figure 2: Members of a youth group with the stove liners


[top] [end]Overall results

The groups sold 1675 liners of which 829 were sold through the efforts of the trained members.

Of the ten groups trained, five which have put in considerable effort are likely to sustain their activities. Three groups are experiencing problems; two of these are situated in the interior, with poor access roads to the market outlets, hence they are relying on the home economic officers; the third has quality control problems. Two groups are still weak and require additional encouragement.

As yet, none of the groups is able to pay group members for the time they spend in producing the liners (production labour) due to lack of funds. However, two groups have started re-imbursing the marketing teams their lunch and transport expenses when marketing the stoves.

The famine which occurred in the course of the year, brought about by continued drought, adversely affected the performance of four of the groups.

[top] [end]Future activities

The marketing training was an additional step in crossing the sustainability bridge.

A lot of effort is still required to make the project self-sustainable. To strengthen the effects of the training, the following needs to be done:
  • Further advice on pricing and the economics of selling
  • Technical advice on production and firing
  • Further training on proper record keeping and effective use of the records to improve performance
  • Further advice on possible stove liner transport options
  • A workshop for group members to exchange experiences in marketing of stoves
  • An extension of marketing training to five more groups
  • Instigation of a 'National Project on Stove Commercialization'
Overall, the 'Women and Energy Project' remains among the most successful stove projects in Africa. It is hoped that one day it will fulfill its objective and cross over the sustainability bridge to complete commercial independence.

[top] [end]Contents: Boiling Point 39: Using biomass residues for energy

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Using biomass residues for energy - Briquetting agricultural residues - Briquetting of biomass residues in India using a Beehive Pyrolyser and briquetting machine - Briquettes in Sudan - An introduction to the reality of household fuel needs in Bangladesh - Sawdust utilization - experiences in Mutare, Zimbabwe - Biomass resources use in tea plantations in Sri Lanka - Development of cooking-cum-heating stoves in the upland of North Vietnam - Fuelwood as a source of urban household energy in Ethiopia - A supply perspective - Community-managed micro-hydro projects in Northern Pakistan - The low wattage cooker - the Nepal experience - Routes for commercialization of rural stoves - Thermally efficient improved wood-burning metal cooking stove - The Women and Energy Project for stove dissemination in Kenya - crossing the sustainability bridge



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Page created: 06 August 2007; Last edited: 02 December 2008; Version: 3
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