Keeling Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

Mukuru Clean Stoves (MCS) is the first women-owned factory in East Africa to design and manufacture affordable, clean cookstoves using locally sourced recycled metal to significantly reduce fuel consumption and household air pollution caused by open-fires. CEO, Charlot Magayi, experienced the harmful effects of inefficient cooking methods firsthand, when, at the age of two, her daughter was severely burned due to a charcoal, open-fire stove. This sparked her interest in finding safer and cleaner options for families unable to afford the alternatives available. From this personal account and the passion to serve the millions with similar experiences, Mukuru Clean Stoves was born August 3rd of 2017. Since its founding, MCS has leveraged the network of local women business owners in peri-urban and rural regions of Kenya, partnered with micro-financing organizations and community women groups, and incorporated the local community in all parts of the production chain to contribute to rural economic growth, while providing cookstoves to the most underserved markets in Kenya - a population of 8 million otherwise unable to obtain cleaner cooking methods.

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Best Estimate of GHG Avoidance/Reduction of This Project (Tonnes CO2 Equivalent/Year):

Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

The nature of MCS‚ business model ensures that vulnerable communities in Kenya, and the women and young girls seeking opportunities within them, benefit throughout the entire production chain, from material sourcing to distribution. Mukuru‚ target market is low-income households across peri-urban and rural communities earning an average of $40-$100 of monthly income. The current customer base is 95% female, ranging in age from 18-55, who cook at least three times a day using charcoal or firewood, for households averaging five members. The location and means of these households does not allow access to other improved cookstoves in the market, which are imported and distributed in urban settings at prices that amount to at least 20% of these families‚ monthly incomes. Mukuru‚ stoves instead are made using locally sourced recycled metal that greatly reduces production costs and are sold in village markets within rurally remote regions in Kenya, thus ensuring that our product is both affordable and accessible for the communities most vulnerable to household air pollutants and the detriments of high carbon emissions. We are also partnered with MFIs and community women groups to ensure that those at the base of the economic pyramid can afford Mukuru stoves through staggered payment methods. 
MCS‚ entirely locally designed, produced, and distributed product also provides employment growth and entrepreneurial opportunities within the rural communities we serve, especially for women. In partnership with women groups in every community Mukuru stoves are sold, MCS has provided entrepreneurial opportunities to nearly 300 female business owners, who work as freelance sales agents selling Mukuru stoves at their local shops. The additional income increases their weekly earnings by an average of $7 each week. MCS also only employs local workers within manufacturing, providing an additional 25 job openings, 92% of which are filled by women- including the entire management team. By incorporating the knowledge and expertise of those that use the stoves- women- throughout the entire production chain, from design to distribution, MCS empowers women, young girls, and impoverished communities in Kenya throughout every aspect of the company model.

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