Partners have established regional e-cooking hubs in Nakuru, Kitui, Makueni, and Kisumu to catalyse electric cooking adoption through the local champions.
ACTS is driving a new national strategy aimed at increasing the use of clean cooking methods to reduce over-reliance on bio-fuels. The initiative is already gaining momentum countrywide with more households showing indications of shifting from using bio-fuels to electricity; the latter is cheaper and environmentally friendly.
Under the umbrella of the Modern Cooking Services (MECS) which include partners from the Clean Cooking Association of Kenya (CCAK), Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC), and Gamos East Africa, the initiative is expected to increase the number of households in Kenya using electricity to cook.
From left, Dr. Joanes Atela, Director Impact and Partnerships ACTS, Joshua Munywoki, Principal Wote Technical and Training Institute (WTTI), John Wamae, Director TVETs Makueni County, and Mary Mbenge, Chief Officer, Natural Resources, Environment and Climate change, Makueni County during the e-cooking hub launch at WTTI Makueni County.
E-cooking Hubs
The hubs allow local capacity building in e-cooking, technology skills transfer, business model testing, research designs which inform local policy development and strategies. With the hubs in operation, electric cooking can rapidly scale up as an aspirational solution for a sizeable population still struggling to cook with unclean fuels.
Seed funds will be awarded to the four hubs to keep them running for the local communities to be continuously sensitised on e-cooking.
Community of Practice
Apart from the e-cooking hubs, MECS and partners has established an e-cooking community of practice (CoP) that brings together various stakeholders in the e-cooking space in Kenya and beyond. The CoP was launched in April 2022 virtually and aims to initiate and sustain continuous dialogue on electric cooking options in Kenya towards the realisation of universal clean cooking access in Kenya by 2028.
The first monthly dialogue focused on understanding the electric cooking techo-policy landscape in Kenya while the second focused on the role of mini-grids in promoting e-cooking in the country.
While acting as a platform to bring different stakeholders together to dialogue on the e-cooking opportunities in Kenya, the CoP also allows data and information sharing and thus allowing inclusive and effective collaborations between the electrification and clean cooking sectors which had previously been working independently.
As a result, an enabling e-cooking environment will be created to allow policymakers formulate policies that endorse electric cooking in the country.
E-cooking demonstrations
Finally, the partners are supporting the weekly ‘Pika na Power’ demonstrations program at KPLC. The programme is meant to create awareness, enhance the capacity of the public on e-cooking and thus generate evidence of effectiveness, efficiency, convenience, and affordability of e-cooking.
Different technology providers get the chance to showcase energy-efficient electric appliances making it easier for the public to make informed decisions on the appliances to buy for different cooking needs.
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