The stoves use 40-50 % less firewood and are made by local stove artisans using locally available materials. Households thus save money and time for the procurement of firewood. In addition, the superior, more efficient combustion process significantly improves the air quality within the home, thus helping to reduce respiratory disorders especially of women and children.
myclimate works closely with the local Kenyan Tembea Youth Center for Sustainable Development, which sets up and manages the CSL groups. Over time, CSL groups mature and are graduated to semi-autonomous operating entities across the project region. They conglomerate into women-led “financial institutions” with power to influence decision-making, shape leadership and inform policy at project level and beyond. The methodology of community savings and loaning has leadership components especially for women, as there is always a chair person, a secretary and a treasurer, which are mostly female.
Thanks to this secure method of financing, women can afford a stove, and often have money to spare for such things as healthcare, insurance, school fees or high-quality seeds. On average, fifteen women meet between two and four times a month. The myclimate project partner Tembea subsidises half of the stove price, whilst an interest-free loan is granted for the remaining 1,000 shillings. The women must pay back this loan within two years at the latest.
The myclimate offsetting payments also flow through Tembea into educating local stove artisans in the production and installation of the efficient stoves, training households to use and maintain them correctly, and into campaigns to raise awareness among the population regarding the subjects of renewable energies and energy-efficiency.
