Promotion of energy-saving Technologies and Alternatives to forest-derived Fuelwood initiated through ICIPE’s integrated conservation Project of Kakamega Forest, Kenya:
Impact Assessment
by Laura de Baan2

Results:
Around 10’000 energy-saving stoves have been installed around Kakamega forest since 2000, when ICIPE’s project started. In 2003 25% of the households of the forest-adjacent communities have installed energy-saving stoves, compared to 4% in 1992.
71% of the people using an energy-saving stove still have a 3-stone fireplace: 61% of them use the 3-stone fireplace daily, 28 % use it less than twice a week and 8% never use it.
The energy-saving stoves have many benefits for the forest-adjacent community:

	Reduced workload for the women.	Leading to improved health.
	Less smoky kitchen-environment.	Leading to improved health.
	Cooking is faster.	Time-saving.
	Firewood collection takes less time.	Time-saving.
	Money can be earned for stove-installation and stove production.	Income-generation.

The disadvantages of the energy-saving stoves are:

• In contrary to the traditional “3- stone”, the installation of energy-saving stoves costs something.
• The stoves are not as flexible as the 3-stone fireplace: Only one size of pans can be used. Very big quantities can only be cooked on the 3-stone fireplace.
• For cooking “ugali” (the staple food), the stoves are not as good as the traditional ones.
• The stoves are not very good for roasting maize.

Conclusions:
Kakamega Forest is highly threatened and will be gone in a few years time unless big efforts are made to conserve it. Firewood collection is perhaps not the most impairing aspect, but since the population is growing rapidly (around 3% annually), the demand for firewood is increasing and the pressure on the sensitive forest-ecosystem is getting stronger. Reducing the demand for firewood with the promotion of energy-saving stoves seems the right way to go. The stoves also have many benefits for the forest-adjacent community. But they have disadvantages too. This is perhaps the reason why the households using energy-saving stoves are still a minority.

Several organisations were promoting energy-saving stoves around Kakamega forest in the last ten years. How much ICIPE’s project contributed to the changes that happened from 1992 until now is hard to tell. They were most likely achieved as a joint effort of all those organisations and projects.

Recommendations:
Funding should be found to make more follow-up trainings for the trained community members. Only then the quality of stoves can be contolled and maintained. With another effort the project can perhaps get self-sustained.
More training in energy-saving cooking methods is required too, since there is a big potential to reduce the firewood consumption by changing the cooking methods.

This survey was carried out with very little financial, human and time resources. Many of the collected data could not be analysed properly because of lack of time. If a second revision of the survey-data is possible, following is recommended:

• The results of this survey which were compared to the results of 1992 should be tested on their significance.
• The differences between the two groups of energy-saving stove-users and 3-stone-users in the “random” questionnaire should be analysed.
• The differences between the “random”-questionnaire and the “energy-saving stove”-questionnaire should be analysed more carefully.

The institutional firewood consumption was excluded entirely in this survey. Many schools, “hoteli” (restaurants) and hospitals around Kakamega forest cook with firewood. Some have now installed energy-saving stoves. 10 fuel wood energy-saving stoves were installed during the Integrated Conservation Project in schools, institutions, hotels and hospitals around Kakamega Forest. Another survey should be made to look at this component.

Contacts:

Trainee:		Supervisor:
Laura de Baan Saumackerstr. 50 8048 Zürich Switzerland debaan@bluemail.ch		Dr. Ian Gordon Environmental Health Division, ICIPE P.O Box 30772 Nairobi Kenya igordon@icipe.org