Cooperation with Kenya Cooking at the touch of a button

    More than 2.1 billion people worldwide still cook using three-stone fires, charcoal and firewood. Cooking this way causes emissions of around one gigatonne of CO₂ every year – a similar amount to that produced by global air travel. The use of firewood contributes to deforestation; deserts are growing and droughts are becoming more frequent. Cooking with electricity offers huge opportunities. eCooking can replace traditional cooking methods; it is more sustainable and also opens up new opportunities for female business owners such as Margaret Wambui.

    Business owner Margaret Wambui uses an electric pressure cooker

    Margaret Wambui, a mother of three, is a businesswoman and cook. She had already tried a number of business ideas when, in 2022, she decided to start selling cooked grains. When rising charcoal prices made her previous cooking method too expensive, she invested in an electric pressure cooker. That was the turning point for her. Since then, she has been able to cook and sell more grain and generate a higher income.

    EnDev, a global multi-donor partnership funded by Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland, promotes access to clean cooking energy by ensuring that modern cooking solutions are available to consumers at affordable prices. The programme works with producers and consumers to provide households, small businesses and social institutions such as schools with access to clean cooking energy. In the process, EnDev is enhancing the range of services on offer by supporting female business-owners and improving their access to finance.

    Margaret Wambui from Ruiru, Kenya, is a case in point. She bought her pressure cooker from BURN Manufacturing, a company that was able to expand its business with support from EnDev. She now works more productively – on a good day, she can sell up to 20 kilograms of cooked grain instead of 6 kilograms. As a result, she earns considerably more, especially at weekends when demand is higher.

    The electric pressure cooker makes her life easier, too. She now has more time for her family, and her shop is cleaner. She no longer has to deal with charcoal, dust and ash; instead, she can do her cooking at the touch of a button – cleanly and safely. She can also take her baby into the shop with her without having to worry about the risk of burns and poor air quality. Each year, almost 3 million people worldwide die from indoor air pollution.

    In Kenya, modern cookstoves save over 823,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year. EnDev has already eliminated the equivalent of 3 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions a year worldwide and provided over 26 million people with access to climate-friendly cooking solutions.