Carbon avoidance

Efficient and Clean Cooking for households in Kenya

Overview

Site

Benefits

Verification

What are community projects?

Community projects bring climate action into everyday life, through changes such as more efficient cooking and better access to clean water. Using less fuel helps reduce emissions and pressure on surrounding forests. Depending on the project, it can also mean cleaner air at home and less time spent collecting firewood.

Project summary

This project aims to provide an efficient cooking system to the communities and institutions in the Republic of Kenya.

The project deploys efficient cookstoves known as Jikokoa, intended for use with charcoal under VPA-02 & 04, and Kuniokoas intended for use with firewood. The technology was designed and developed by BURN Manufacturing Co. These highly efficient cookstoves translate into considerable charcoal and firewood savings when compared to traditional cookstoves. The Jikokoa and Kuniokoa stoves’ design considers the local cooking culture in the project area to ensure that improvements in technology and Improved standards of living do not come at the expense of cultural traditions.

Locations

Kenya

Benefits

Climate

The project delivers significant climate action by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through decreased biomass consumption. By replacing traditional cookstoves with highly efficient Kuniokoas that achieve 42.4% thermal efficiency, households reduce their firewood consumption from an average of 2.57 tons per year to 1.01 tons per year. The project contributes meaningfully to Kenya's climate mitigation efforts while helping to slow deforestation and land degradation caused by excessive firewood harvesting.

Nature

This project provides substantial environmental benefits by reducing pressure on Kenya's natural ecosystems. The reduction in firewood consumption - from 2.57 to 1.01 tons per household annually - directly decreases deforestation and land degradation across the project area. This helps preserve soil fertility and the soil's water retention capacity, protecting watersheds and natural water patterns. By reducing the need for biomass harvesting, the project helps maintain intact ecosystems and biodiversity, protecting habitats for wildlife. The reduction in wood smoke and pollutant emissions also improves local environmental quality.

People

Improved Cookstoves (ICS) improves heat transfer efficiency as compared to the baseline conventional stoves and also reduces the dependency using non-renewable woody biomass, reducing the GHG emissions from the burning of non-renewable woody biomass and charcoal for cooking. This helps reduce the pollution, helping to provide cleaner air quality.

SDGs supported

For low-income households, fuel is a major recurring cost. By lowering fuel consumption, families can redirect savings toward food, education, healthcare, or small businesses. In addition, BURN creates stable employment across its value chain, providing income opportunities that help lift people out of poverty.

The project dramatically improves health outcomes, with 99.23% of households experiencing better indoor air quality. Reduced smoke exposure lowers the risk of pneumonia, stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer - conditions that disproportionately affect women and children who spend the most time near traditional cookstoves.

By reducing fuel demand and the frequency of collection trips, the project frees up time for school attendance, homework, and rest. Improved health also means fewer missed school days due to illness.

Women and girls benefit directly from reduced fuel collection burdens and improved indoor air quality. The project also promotes women’s economic empowerment through employment.

The project ensures access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy by distributing an estimated 67,315 improved cookstoves over the first crediting period.

The project creates at least 25 jobs across manufacturing, distribution, sales, marketing, and repair services.

The reduction in the use of fossil fuel for cooking purposes will result in emission reductions and eventually reduce the effects of Climate change in the host country.

By significantly reducing charcoal and firewood consumption through efficient cookstoves, the project decreases pressure on Kenya's forests and woodlands. Less demand for wood fuel means fewer trees are cut down, helping to halt deforestation.

Verification

These partners help deliver the project and verify its impact.

Suppliers

Burn

Over the past 10 years, BURN has built a successful business while proving that cookstoves can have transformative social, financial and environmental impacts.

Verifiers

Gold standard

This project is verified by the Gold Standard.