Equity has launched an initiative to support learning institutions to transition from wood-fuel based cooking to cleaner, sustainable, and environmental sources of cooking and lighting.
Dubbed the ‘Clean Cooking Project’, the initiative aims at supporting learning institutions to install modern technologies for cooking that are environmentally safe such as steam-based cooking, biofuels, sustainable biomass and Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG). Equity will provide financing for the equipment and other installation costs based on an institution’s needs.
“Wood-fuel is not a sustainable model for our planet as it has led to adverse environmental degradation and depletion of our much-needed forest cover. Lack of appropriate financing and innovative technologies has been the biggest barrier to clean energy transition. To close this gap, we have decided to partner with learning institutions to facilitate them access and install more environmentally friendly cooking and lighting facilities. We decided to create a more integrated programme to ensure trees would grow to maturity and not be used as an energy source”
Equity Group Managing Director and CEO, Dr. James Mwangi.
According to the Clean Cooking Alliance of Kenya (CCAK) study on ‘Use of Biomass Cookstoves and Fuels in institutions in Kenya report of 2018’, 97% of primary and secondary schools use firewood derived from forests as cooking fuel. This counters the Kenya government efforts of attaining the constitutional requirement of 10 percent forest cover.
CCAK estimates that 1 million metric tonnes of wood-fuel is used by primary and secondary schools every year with a value of KES 10 billion. The increased over-reliance on wood and charcoal as the primary sources of fuel by institutions requires urgent attention for Kenya to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by the year 2030 under the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC).
