Eco2librium’s Upesi Cookstoves initiative serves as a transformative model, uniquely merging environmental conservation with economic empowerment to address the intertwined issues of deforestation, carbon emissions, and economic marginalization in rural Kenya. By developing and distributing energy-efficient cookstoves, Eco2librium not only aims to reduce household wood consumption but also to uplift communities, especially women and youth, through sustainable income opportunities. This comprehensive approach underscores the significant and lasting impacts Eco2librium is achieving through the Upesi Cookstoves initiative.
Eco2librium is leading a transformative initiative with the distribution and installation of 196,577 Upesi cookstoves, improving the lives of 103,959 households in Western Kenya. This achievement seamlessly combines environmental conservation with economic empowerment on a significant scale.
Environmental Protection
Eco2librium’s Upesi Cookstoves are designed for maximum fuel efficiency, requiring substantially less wood than traditional open-fire cooking. Given that over 70% of Kenyan households rely on firewood or charcoal for cooking, the pressure on local forests is immense. Forests are not only a crucial part of Kenya’s ecosystem but also essential to global carbon sequestration efforts. Recognizing this, Eco2librium launched the Upesi Cookstoves initiative with a focus on reducing the demand for wood fuel, thus alleviating deforestation and its related environmental impacts.
Each Upesi Cookstove is built to conserve up to 50% of the wood required for cooking. This level of efficiency translates into a significant reduction in wood usage per household, directly reducing the strain on Kenya’s forests. Through forest conservation, Eco2librium plays a vital role in preserving biodiversity by safeguarding habitats for various plant and animal species. Forests are foundational to maintaining ecological balance, regulating local climates, preventing soil erosion, and maintaining water cycles. By mitigating the rate of deforestation through fuel-efficient cookstoves, Eco2librium contributes to protecting these critical ecosystem services.
The Upesi Cookstoves also contribute to improved air quality by emitting significantly less smoke than traditional cooking methods. Indoor air pollution from open-fire cooking is a leading cause of respiratory illnesses, particularly among women and children, who are often exposed to smoke for extended periods. Eco2librium’s initiative not only enhances environmental health by reducing particulate emissions but also addresses a critical public health concern. Cleaner air, both indoors and outdoors, leads to better health outcomes for community members, reducing the incidence of respiratory illnesses and lowering associated healthcare costs.
Beyond household and local impacts, the reduction in CO₂ emissions achieved by the Upesi Cookstoves aligns with global climate action goals. By lowering carbon emissions, Eco2librium generates carbon credits, creating a sustainable funding stream that supports the project. These carbon credits allow the initiative to scale up and reach more households while reinforcing a circular economy model. Eco2librium’s approach demonstrates how community-level environmental actions can integrate into broader frameworks for combating climate change, contributing to both national and international environmental targets.
Eco2librium also goes a step further to ensure the sustainability of production materials. Ceramic liners, a core component of the Upesi Cookstoves, are produced with clay, sourced through managed collection practices. To offset the environmental impact of clay extraction, Eco2librium collaborates with women-led producer groups to rehabilitate clay sites through tree-planting initiatives. These efforts prevent soil degradation, enhance landscape resilience, and contribute to the long-term availability of clay resources. By embedding conservation practices directly into the supply chain, Eco2librium not only meets its production needs sustainably but also promotes environmental stewardship within the communities it serves.
Economic Empowerment
Eco2librium’s Upesi Cookstoves initiative is also a cornerstone of economic empowerment, particularly in rural communities where employment opportunities are limited. By fostering local production and distribution networks, Eco2librium empowers rural women and youth, who make up the majority of the producer and installer groups associated with the project. These groups are trained, equipped, and organized to manufacture the ceramic liners and install cookstoves in households, creating sustainable income opportunities within the community.
The initiative provides technical training and resources to over 150 installer groups and 12 producer groups, imparting valuable skills that extend beyond the Upesi Cookstoves program. Through hands-on training, members of these groups learn about ceramics, stove installation, quality control, and business management. These skills not only improve the quality and efficiency of cookstove production but also enhance group members’ abilities to pursue other economic activities, thus broadening their income potential.
Moreover, Eco2librium supports producer groups through its Kilns Microfinancing Scheme, an innovative financing solution that enables them to invest in necessary infrastructure. This includes providing access to bonfire kilns, workshops, and molds, which boost production capacity and ensure product consistency. With these facilities, producer groups can meet increasing demand without compromising on quality. The Kilns Microfinancing Scheme is pivotal for group sustainability, as it allows producers to grow their operations, become self-sufficient, and even expand into new markets over time.
By focusing on women and youth, the Upesi Cookstoves initiative addresses structural economic challenges. In rural Kenya, women often have limited access to formal employment, and youth unemployment rates are high. The project’s inclusive approach to recruiting and supporting these demographics not only creates jobs but also empowers individuals with independence and financial security. The consistent income from cookstove production and installation helps families improve their quality of life, leading to better education, healthcare, and nutritional outcomes for their children.
The economic benefits extend directly to households that use the Upesi Cookstoves. With the reduction in firewood consumption, families save on fuel costs, allowing them to allocate resources toward other household needs. These savings are particularly impactful for lower-income families, where fuel costs can account for a significant portion of household expenses. Furthermore, Eco2librium incentivizes households through its Scott’s Club program, which rewards families that have effectively used their cookstoves for two years with various benefits, further motivating efficient and long-term usage.
Eco2librium also organizes regional meetings with producer and installer groups to foster communication, address challenges, and ensure smooth project operations. These meetings provide a platform for capacity building and information sharing, reinforcing a sense of community and collaboration among participants. This collective approach encourages groups to share best practices and support each other, fostering resilience and strengthening local economies.
Environmental Protection and Cost Savings for Schools
Eco2librium’s Improved Institutional Stove project for schools align with the broader goals of the Upesi Cookstoves initiative, merging environmental conservation with economic empowerment. By integrating the energy-efficient cookstoves into schools, Eco2librium addresses both educational needs and environmental protection.
The Improved Institutional Stoves are designed for high efficiency, using up to 50% less wood compared to traditional methods. This substantial reduction in wood consumption directly alleviates pressure on forests, a critical aspect of Eco2librium’s commitment to reducing deforestation. The cookstoves not only conserve Kenya’s forest ecosystems but also help schools save on fuel costs. This economic benefit allows schools to allocate more resources toward educational materials and facility improvements.
Moreover, reduced wood use results in lower smoke emissions, contributing to improved indoor air quality for students and staff. By promoting healthier cooking environments, the stoves protect students and teachers from respiratory illnesses associated with smoke inhalation, particularly in rural areas where open-fire cooking is common in schools.
Through Eco2librium’s efforts, educational institutions become a focal point for sustainable practices, empowering young students to appreciate and contribute to environmental protection from a young age. The initiative on extending the schools firewood consumption in coping up with the mitigations measures on climate change, the activity promotes the sustainable development goal on Quality of education through offering affordable cooking system and enabling conducive environment on education stream.
A Holistic Model for Sustainable Development
The Upesi Cookstoves initiative exemplifies Eco2librium’s holistic approach to sustainable development. By simultaneously addressing environmental protection and economic empowerment, the project enhances livelihoods while promoting sustainable resource use. The initiative aligns with Kenya’s broader sustainable development goals, contributing to national efforts to reduce poverty, improve health outcomes, and combat climate change.
One of the distinctive aspects of Eco2librium’s approach is the circular economy model underpinning the Upesi Cookstoves project. From the reduction in wood usage to the generation of carbon credits and reinvestment in local infrastructure, every step in the initiative creates value that supports the program’s longevity and scalability. This model ensures that Eco2librium’s impact goes beyond immediate benefits, establishing a sustainable framework that can adapt and expand over time.
Eco2librium’s vision for the Improved Institutional Stoves aligns with national goals in education, health, and environmental conservation. By expanding this project to more schools, Eco2librium aims to deepen its impact on both environmental conservation and educational infrastructure, serving as a model for other regions.
Looking Ahead: Scaling Impact
Eco2librium’s vision for the Upesi Cookstoves initiative extends beyond the communities currently served. With a goal to reach more households across Kenya, Eco2librium aims to deepen its impact, further reducing deforestation rates, enhancing air quality, and generating more economic opportunities in rural areas. Expanding the program will enable Eco2librium to make a more significant contribution to Kenya’s environmental conservation and socio-economic advancement.
As the Upesi Cookstoves initiative continues to grow, it offers a model for other regions and organizations seeking to implement community-centred, environmentally sustainable projects. By prioritizing environmental protection and economic empowerment, Eco2librium sets a powerful example of how local actions can achieve global impacts, fostering a future where communities thrive alongside the environment.
Written by:
Brenda Imai,
Head of Media and Publicity,
Eco2librium Company Limited
And
Philip Mutula,
Manager, Stoves for Life (SFL) Project,
Eco2librium Company Limited
