Kenya

Solutions for Clean Cooking: Dissemination of Efficient Cookstoves and Sustainable Briquettes

Project completed

Organisation

Gum Arabic and Resins Association (GARA)

Website

Support area

Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions

Funding

124021.56 €

Project duration

Apr, 2024 – Mar, 2026

This IKI Small Grants project was promoting the use of efficient cookstoves, using bio-briquettes made from sugarcane bagasse instead of firewood to contribute to emission reduction, forest protection, and biodiversity, while improving the health and income situation of the target group. The target group consisted of 200 members of two village cooperatives, who participated in the production, marketing, and use of the cookstoves and bio-briquettes.

Key activities included cookstove technology assessments, local artisan training, pilot cookstove production, public awareness campaigns, distributor profiling, policy reviews, stakeholder dialogues, and internal capacity strengthening of GARA.

Thus, the project enhanced local capacities to produce sustainable, market efficient cookstoves and briquettes and strengthened stakeholder engagements and policy dialogue with government and sector representatives for promotion of clean cooking solution.

Key achievements

The project

conducted a national assessment of cookstove technologies and producers;
trained 20 local artisans in efficient cookstove production, including trainers for cascading knowledge transfer;
established a pilot cookstove manufacturing facility and developed improved cookstove designs based on user feedback;
produced 136 efficient cookstoves and sold 50 cookstoves to households.

Capacity development

IKI Small Grants supported Gum Arabic and Resins Association (GARA) in their organisational capacity development through:

Reviewing and updating current organisational policies and procedures
Training in lobbying and advocacy for natural resources management and climate actions

About the organisation

Gum Arabic and Resins Association (GARA) is a membership organisation founded in 1996 and registered by the Registrar of Societies in Kenya in 1997 to serve the interests of the various stakeholders in addressing challenges in the gums and resins sub-sector.

GARA promotes the development of non-timber forest products value chains in Kenya. Its strategies include capacity building, research, technology and innovations, policy advocacy and market development. GARA has been working in partnership with national and international partners, implementing projects with a focus on development of non-timber forest products value chains including the project “Improving Framework Conditions and Skills for Private Sector Development in Biofuel Value Chain in Kenya (Biofuel4Kenya)”.