Overview of the project

3 billion people world -wide rely on open fires that expose them to dirty smoke. According to world health organization, cook stove smoke is a major contributor to indoor air pollution in developing countries causing an average of 4 million premature deaths annually and other range of illness such as pneumonia, lung cancer, pulmonary diseases and low birth weight . Kenya has a population estimate of 45 million. Less than 37% of households in Kenya use form of improved cook stoves (ICS) while the rest use cooking devices with low thermal energy efficiency ratios and high negative health impacts associated to indoor pollution . Approximately 35 million people still rely on traditional biomass cooking methods. Following the logging ban in Kenya, there has been a charcoal price surge. This really hit both poor and average homes who rely on either firewood or charcoal for cooking. Introduction of lean cook stoves which consume exclusively pellet for fuel will enhance access to clean, efficient and affordable alternative for cooking.

Currently, there isn’t a cook stove that fits the needs of a real Kenyan in the market. Most Kenyan homes use bulky sufurias and the cooking is vigorous such that the available cook stoves cannot handle. Another factor is that the available cook stoves do not use pellets exclusively and therefore provide a window for continuous use of firewood and charcoal which leads to air pollution. This is the current gap in the market that Lean Energy Solutions has identified and seeks to bridge by designing and producing a clean cook stove that has the desired features. Lean Energy will ensure that the cook stoves are of standard and that they fit the need of the target market. We will also establish a good distribution channel for pellet to ensure that fuel is accessed easily. This is unlike most of the tire one competitors in this market who do not supply pellets and therefore the consumers find it hard to access fuel. The proposed project will target households in urban slums, urban average residential households and households in rural areas. The project targets an average of 100,000 households in total.