02 · Food security
Our work · 01
Climate & Clean Cooking
Cleaner, more efficient cooking can protect women’s health, save time and money, and ease pressure on Laikipia’s trees and land.
Context
Why this matters in Laikipia
Many households in Laikipia, as across rural Kenya, still cook with firewood or charcoal on open fires or simple stoves. Women and young children, who spend the most time near the fire, breathe in most of the smoke.
Collecting firewood can take hours each week, and buying charcoal strains household budgets. Cutting trees for fuel adds pressure on land that is already stretched by dry seasons and changing weather.
Energy-saving cookstoves and better cooking practices are one of the most practical ways to tackle these problems together — and women are best placed to lead that change.
Activities
What the work involves
The kinds of activities this area of work focuses on. Details vary by community and season.
Awareness and demonstrations
Community sessions on the health effects of household smoke and hands-on demonstrations of cleaner, more efficient cooking.
Access to affordable cookstoves
Helping households learn about and access affordable, energy-saving cookstoves that suit local cooking needs.
Women as clean-cooking champions
Supporting women to share knowledge with neighbours and to explore small clean-energy enterprises.
Climate resilience conversations
Linking clean cooking with tree care, water and other practical climate-resilience steps households can take.
Audience
Who it is for
- Women and households who cook with firewood or charcoal
- Women’s groups interested in clean energy and climate action
- Partners working on clean cooking, energy access, health or climate
Implementation
How we work
Start with how families cook today
Solutions must fit real meals, real kitchens and real budgets.
Show, don’t lecture
Demonstrations let women judge for themselves what works.
Affordability first
We prioritise options households can realistically afford and maintain.
Follow up
A stove only helps if it keeps being used, so we check in after adoption.
Evidence & outcomes
What we measure
Verified results pending
Results will be published once verified
We do not publish figures until they have been checked. As evidence becomes available, this section will report on:
- Households reached through awareness and demonstrations
- Continued cookstove use several months after adoption
- Reported changes in fuel use, cost or collection time
- Feedback from women on smoke, cooking time and convenience
Gallery
From the field
Approved photo
Approved photo
Approved photo
Photographs of this work will appear here once approved by LAWODA and the people pictured. For recent activity photos, visit our Facebook page (opens in a new tab).
FAQs
Common questions
Why is clean cooking part of a climate programme?
Cooking with wood and charcoal links directly to tree loss, household air pollution and the time and money families spend on fuel. Improving how families cook is one of the most practical climate actions a household can take — and it brings immediate benefits to women’s health and time.
How can my household or women’s group get involved?
Please get in touch by phone, email or our contact form. Tell us where you are based and what you are interested in, and we will let you know about relevant activities. We cannot promise activities in every location at every time.
Can my organisation partner with LAWODA on clean cooking?
Yes. We welcome conversations with clean-cooking, energy, health and climate organisations. Use the Partner With Us form to tell us about your organisation and what you have in mind.
Where will results be published?
Verified results will be published on this page, in our Impact & Stories section and in our reports once they are available.
Partner with us on clean cooking
Work with us to bring affordable, cleaner cooking to more households in Laikipia.
