From Smoke to Safety: How a Simple Stove Brought a Fresh Breath of Air in Lamu County

Ms Lucy Kanana, 29, from Mokowe, Lamu county usually started off her morning with loud irritating coughs. This happened every time she lit her charcoal jiko to prepare breakfast. But that has turned into a happy sojourn ever since she acquired Jikokoa,  an improved charcoal jiko.

Ms Kanana says her traditional jiko consumed a lot of charcoal to keep it alight. It would then take a long time to cook meals and she had to add charcoal often to keep it alight. Every time she added charcoal, Ms Kanana had to take her Jiko outside to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide circulating within her one roomed house.

But this changed when she visited Mokowe town for her regular shopping and interacted with sales representatives from D.light who were doing market activation for improved energy saving stoves. “I got interested when I saw them cooking foodstuffs using an improved jiko. It was using very little charcoal and meals were cooked in a very short period. There was also no smoke coming out from the jiko,” Lucy says.

Lucy was so impressed by Jikokoa that she paid cash for her unit. So far, she is a very happy client and describes Jikokoa as godsend. She adds it uses locally sourced charcoal, lights easily and emits less smoke making it suitable for use within the house.

“I was given a one-year warranty which we signed at the shop. I have the copy with me. This allows me to return the improved jiko for repairs or even replacement in case it develops any problem”. She adds.

During her local meetings with fellow women, Ms Kanana takes the opportunity to sensitise her peers on the dangers of toxic fumes from jikos, and offers them easy and locally available solutions that she has said has changed her life for the better.