Fish traders embrace energy-saving stoves to save forests

Risper Atieno is among a group of 50 women who use firewood to fry fish at the pier market in Homa Bay town. Every day, the women order hundreds of kilogrammes of firewood to be delivered to them before they start their business.

Ms Atieno, who has been at the market for more than 20 years, claims firewood is the best source of fuel. She uses firewood as her source of energy to prepare food. “I have used firewood throughout the time I have been in the fish-selling business,” says Ms Atieno.

"When buying fish at the market, some people prefer taking it home when it is fried,”  she notes. She also fries fish for traders who intend to sell the delicacy when pre-cooked to prolong their shelf life. At her stall is a stove which she made using mud.

As she prepares fish, the walls of the stove come off before it loses heat, forcing her to suspend business for a while as she repairs the stove. Emissions from the stove also make her cough and irritate her eyes.

On a good day, the trader can prepare up to 500 fish. But the more fish she fries, the more firewood she uses. This comes with a heavy price as continued exposure to smoke increases the chances of developing respiratory infection.

Controlled logging has also made access to firewood very difficult. "The price of buying firewood has been increasing every day," Ms Atieno says. Most women at the market are not familiar with modern cooking stoves that can reduce the amount of wood they use.

Ms Atieno says she is not aware that she contributes to climate change when she uses firewood. "I have never thought of using alternative cooking methods as firewood is cheaper," she says. Two kilometres away is another group of fish traders. This group uses a different method to prepare fish.

Most of them use charcoal while others use firewood. However, those who use firewood use energy-saving stoves. The stoves were installed by Devolution and Climate Change Adaptation (DaCCA) with support from Sustainable Energy , Denmark, through DANIDA (Danish International Development Agency).

Project Officer Rose Swaka says the organisation has partnered with the Department of Energy in Homa Bay County to facilitate the making of improved stoves to reduce deforestation. Ms Swaka says women involved in the fish trade are utilising energy-efficient stoves and biogas to fry fish.

"This was inspired by the valuable insights gained from Devolution and Climate Change Adaptation training programmes in Kochia and Kibiri wards," she says. Ms Swaka notes that the new technology has helped fish traders reduce their costs of fuel by 70 per cent.

“Before the installation of the energy-efficient stoves, a trader incurred a total cost of Sh1,200 daily for firewood.” "They now spend between Sh300 and Sh400. The energy-efficient cook stoves are a significant improvement over traditional cook stoves," Ms Swaka says.

Pride Fish Women Group Chairperson Mary Otieno says the stoves are good for the elderly because they emit less smoke and reduce chances of developing respiratory infections. “I have cut the cost of fuel by at least half. I am proud that I’m contributing to environmental conservation,” Ms Otieno says.

Ms Swaka says this transformation project is a potential candidate for carbon credit registration under programmes like the Clean Development Mechanism and Verified Carbon Standard.

She says the improved cook stoves used by fish traders rely on both wood and charcoal briquettes, significantly reducing operating costs. “Energy-efficient cook stoves reduce firewood consumption, minimise deforestation and lower greenhouse gas emissions. They can use charcoal briquettes made from dry leaves and agricultural waste such as coffee husks and rice husks, recycling these materials into cooking fuel,” the DaCCA official says.

The stoves are made from clay liners, metal casings and vermiculite cement. Ms Swaka says the stoves efficiently retain heat during cooking. "These materials are readily available locally and women are continually educated on tree planting initiatives," the official adds.

Currently, the market lacks a fish cooler. However, the improved stoves will enhance fish durability, add economic value, reduce wood fuel costs and increase carbon credits. With a high demand for their installation, these improved stoves exhibit substantial potential for expansion , she notes.

With modest support or partial cost-sharing from DaCCA and other relevant organisations, Ms Swaka says the Homa Bay community can readily adopt and use the improved stoves. She adds that the stoves can be easily adapted to other regions by adjusting the local materials used in construction.

“This initiative holds the potential to attract private financing since it can generate revenue through carbon offset credits. We call upon our partners in this endeavour to support the traders in expanding the installation of more stoves at the market as we advocate for climate change,” Ms Swaka says.

She encourages the community to consider installing the stoves at home. During the launch of Taifa Gas in Dongo Kundu in Mombasa County, President William Ruto said at least 70 per cent of Kenyans are using firewood to prepare meals for their families.

Dr Ruto stated that every household in the country will have subsidised cooking gas in the next three years. In the meantime, more people ,including fish traders like Ms Atieno, will continue using firewood, which hurts health and leads to climate change.

Ms Leone Otieno, an environmentalist in Homa Bay, says the use of improved stoves makes cooking flexible. She says the stoves can be used under any weather, unlike firewood, which cannot light when wet.

“The initiative helps in reducing the destruction of trees,” the environmentalist says.Ms Otieno and other officials from environmental groups got into an agreement with fish traders at the market on how they can increase tree cover in Homa Bay. They plan to identify areas including schools with low tree cover to plant more trees as part of the 15 billion tree cover initiative by the government.

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