In Kenya, it is common to find daily meals being prepared over an open fire – in fact, around 58 percent of Kenyan households are reported to do so. The burning of solid fuels such as firewood and charcoal is one of the main sources of household air pollution (HAP) in Kenya, a public health burden that leads to diseases like pneumonia, and over 1 million deaths every year in Africa.
Kenyan households are slowly transitioning to cleaner modern fuels and methods for improved air quality, safety, and efficiency. However, due to a lack of awareness of the effects or a lack of finances, not everyone has been able to make that shift.
That’s where Charlot Magayi comes in. Her company Mukuru Clean Stoves (MCS) is a women-led initiative that provides improved, less polluting cookstoves to low-income communities.
In 2020, USADF awarded Charlot US$91,500 grant funding to develop and market clean cookstoves to more than 45,000 households and benefitted over 220,000 people. In addition to improved air quality in their homes, these stoves reduced cooking time and fuel consumption, thereby improving energy efficiency and reducing costs by up to US$2 weekly. Although Mukuru has been faced with competition in the Kenyan clean stove market, their price point of around US$10 (KSH1,000) is uniquely cheaper compared to similar products. This removes the financial barrier that prevents many low-income households from accessing this technology.
Beyond providing this clean alternative, Mukuru’s model of operation empowers women and improves livelihoods in the communities it operates in. Mukuru employs local women artisans and technicians to design and manufacture the stoves from recycled materials. She also works with female entrepreneurs, women’s groups, and microfinance and credit institutions to finance and distribute their products to thousands of Kenyan households. Through this process, Charlot has helped to increase awareness on sustainable practices, provide employment and increase the household income of Kenyan women.
In 2021, Charlot received a second USADF grant funding of US$50K as part of USADF’s African Resilience Initiative for Entrepreneurs (ARIE) to assist in scaling up the business and expanding her reach to other Kenyan counties. With the USADF ARIE grant funding, she has opened new regional hubs, employed additional staff and increased production capacity to reduce the stoves’ cost and sales prices. Thanks to this grant, Charlot is working to reach over 200,000 households, 1000 women entrepreneurs, and 1 million Kenyans.