KENYA ESSENTIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMME

ENHANCING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE THROUGH IMPROVED ACCESS TO

EDUCATION IN SAMBURU COUNTY

FINAL REPORT ON INSTALLATION OF

ROCKET STOVES BY CORDAID -
SAMBURU COUNTY

Catholic Organisation for Relief and Development Aid

5th floor, New Rehema House – Rhapta Road, Westlands
P.O.Box 40278 - 00100 Nairobi, Kenya
Office Tel: +254 722 203 095 | Cel: +254 733 333 351

CARE. ACT. SHARE. LIKE CORDAID.

ACRONYMS

CORDAID – Catholic Organization for Relief and Development Aid

BEET - Biomass Energy Efficient Technologies
RS - Rocket Stove
IRS - Institutional Rocket Stoves
WBT – Water Boiling Test
SDF – School Development Fund
ASAL – Arid and Semi-Arid Land
ISAK – Improved Stoves Association of Kenya
BOM – Board of Management

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Table of Contents
................................................................................................................................................ 1
ACRONYMS .............................................................................................................................. i
List of Tables ........................................................................................................................... iii
1.0 BACKGROUND INFORMATION .................................................................................... 1
2.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................... 1
3.0 IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS ....................................................................................... 3
3.1 Implementation Summary................................................................................................ 2
Stove Design .......................................................................................................................... 4
Implementation approach....................................................................................................... 4
Construction Materials ........................................................................................................... 6
Summary of the beneficiaries ................................................................................................ 7
Impact of stoves and leverage by schools ............................................................................ 10
Challenges in implementation.............................................................................................. 12
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................... 14
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 14
Recommendations ................................................................................................................ 14
1. Rocket stoves ................................................................................................................ 14

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List of Tables

Table 1: Rocket stove design ..................................................................................................... 4

Table 2: Average consumption of stove construction materials ................................................ 7
Table 3: Summary of beneficiaries ............................................................................................ 8
Table 4: Details for local stove artisans ..................................................................................... 9

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1.0 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Kenya is facing a biomass energy crisis marked by an increasing imbalance between the supply
and demand for firewood in households and institutions. One of the most effective strategies
to sustainably contribute towards the alleviation of this problem is through an extensive
dissemination of biomass energy efficient technologies (BEET). The BEET have been
developed to improve energy efficiency for households and institutional practices. They
include Domestic and Institutional Rocket Stoves (IRS).The IRS have overall efficiencies of
over 40% (on average) compared to the traditional 3 stone fire stove of 15.6% in a laboratory
high power water boiling test(WBT).
The improved stoves help the users to have firewood savings of 50-60% when compared to the
traditional (open) 3 stone stove. This implies that the amount of firewood used by a family in
one day with a traditional 3 stone fire can be used for 2-3 days with the Rocket stove (R.S).
The Rocket stove technology has been attributed to saving 0.019 hectares of woodland by the
use of one stove annually.
Another advantage of using the IRS is the fact that the investment on the stove construction
can be recovered in a relatively short time through the savings on the reduced firewood costs.

2.0 INTRODUCTION

The SDF Project recognizes the fact that use of Rocket Stoves is the current most efficient
means of curbing the rapid environmental degradation attributed to adoption of non-ecofriendly
sources of energy. With the awakening of the climate change consciousness across the globe,
efforts are being put to build resilient communities by instilling preparedness to combat adverse
consequences of this phenomenon. ASAL areas like Samburu County are areas of interest as
the effects of climate change have been greatly impacting on the education sector.
A baseline survey that was conducted by Cordaid in Samburu County in June 2016 revealed
that about 79% of the people used firewood as a source of cooking fuel. Among these people,
only 3.4% used energy saving jikos, while 76% used three stone jikos. With the inefficiencies
associated with this traditional means of cooking, there was a good reason enough to worry
about the trend of forest cover in the county which is currently succumbing to effects of
environmental degradation. With the increasing demand of firewood in both institutions and
homes, forest destruction is expected to continue thus impacting negatively on the
environment.
Many schools expressed interest in having improved energy saving jikos to salvage themselves
from incurring huge bills that are usually allocated to purchasing of fuel for daily cooking.
It is for this reason that Cordaid planned to construct the Improved Rocket Stoves in 28 public
primary schools across Sambru County. The stoves have many advantages over the ordinary
three stone jikos, thus their adoption is expected to improve significantly the learning

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environment for pupils in the county and eventually encourage increased enrolment, attendance
and retention in the schools. The stoves also have huge positive impacts on the environment
hence their adoption by the community at large will enhance resilience to climate change,
effects of which have adverse consequences.

Photo 1: Three stone jiko at Morijo Primary school

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3.0 IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS

3.1 Implementation Summary

The intervention was dubbed provision of improved energy efficient institutional stoves with
a target of 28 public primary schools in Samburu County. A consultant had been identified
from ISAK who was used to train local artisans on construction of the stoves at the
commencement of the project. A total of 10 artisans were trained and they were expected to
train more locals in the process of implementation. By the end of the training period, which
took about 3 weeks, stoves had been constructed in 5 schools for Cordaid. After that,
installation and commissioning of the stoves in the remaining 23 schools was stretched over a
period of six months.
A total number of 30 institutional stoves were constructed in 28 schools reaching a number of
13,901 beneficiaries (7,433 boys and 6,468 girls). 10 more local artisans were trained making
a total of 20 skilled artisans trained in the programme, cutting across the 3 sub-counties of
Samburu.
Cordaid procured most of the stove construction materials from Nairobi and facilitated their
distribution to the various schools using the locally prequalified vendors. Other locally
available materials such as sand, ballast and masonry blocks were sourced locally. Water
availability was one of the main challenges in most schools. However Cordaid facilitated
ferrying of water in drums from the available nearby sources to schools. In the spirit of
community participation, some parents also offered to fetch water for construction of stoves in
their respective schools which eased the whole process.

Consumer education was sustained during firing and commissioning of stoves. The school
administrations invited the BOMs and other parents to witness and ensure that the stoves were
tested for full functionality, as well as to get the consumers educated on the use of the stoves
and replication of the domestic stove within the community. The community members showed
great interest in having the small domestic stoves in their homes.

Photo 2: A consumer Education Session at Angata Rongai Primary School

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3.2 Rocket Stove Design

The rocket stoves are available in different sizes depending on cooking capacity as tabulated
below;

Table 1: Rocket stove design

Type of stove Dimensions (cm) Capacity (Ltrs) No. to serve

Domestic
1. Small Domestic 60 x 60 7 1-6
2. Big Domestic 70 x 70 15 7-12
Institutional
1. 250 ltrs 140 x 140 250 400
2. 300 ltrs 145 x 145 300 550
3. 400 ltrs 150 x 150 400 800
4. 600 ltrs 170 x 170 600 1,200

The size of stove to be constructed in a particular school was informed by the school’s
enrolment at that moment. A Big Domestic Stove was always installed in addition to the
institutional stove in each school to act as a prototype of the stoves the community was expected
to adopt. These stoves were used to cook small quantities of food especially for teachers and
the visitors in schools. A schematic representation of the Rocket Stove features is attached at
Appendix XX

3.3 Implementation approach

The first group of 10 artisans that were trained by the Consultant from ISAK were divided into
three groups, each comprising 3 artisans. One of the artisans however backed off due to
unavoidable reasons and the whole group was left with 9 artisans. The three groups were
assigned to the three sub-counties and a lead artisan in each group was contracted to coordinate
the construction activities in the assigned schools. Cordaid then distributed all the required
construction materials to all the schools where installation of stoves was to be done. Site
selection and handover was done jointly with the school head teachers, BOM members, artisans
and cooks. On average, installation of both the institutional stove and the small domestic one
would take 3 consecutive days. The stoves would then be cured for 21 days before
firing/commissioning as follows;
- Day 1-7: Curing with water; this entailed sprinkling with clean water all the surfaces
of the stoves to enhance adequate setting of concrete/cement-sand mortar sections. This
was done at least once on daily basis depending on the prevailing weather conditions.

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 - Day 8-14: Free drying; this entailed leaving the stoves free without putting water to
enhance drying of the concrete/cement-sand mortar sections
- Day 15-21: Hardening off; this entailed putting hot ash inside the fire box and
combustion chambers of the stoves in preparation for use after the 21 days. This was
done at least once on daily basis.
All the stakeholders were briefed on the whole process and the cooks were charged with the
responsibility of effecting proper curing of the stoves.

Photo 3: Stove installation in progress at Angata Photo 4: Stove installation in progress at Wamba
Rongai Pry DEB Pry

After successful installation, Cordaid facilitated movement of the artisans to the next schools.
Each lead artisan was mandated to train at least 2 more artisans for a minimum of two stoves.
The newly trained artisans moved along with the skilled ones to other schools in order to perfect
their skills.
Close monitoring of the stove installation was done by Cordaid field officers who adopted the
checklist at Appendix XX to verify successful installation.
During firing/commissioning of the stoves, the school administration invited the BOM and
other parents to witness. The consumers were educated on the benefits of the stoves and were
encouraged to replicate the domestic stoves within the community. The cooks were taken
through some of the proper usage and maintenance practices of the stoves such as;
1. Closing the fire box before placing the sufuria on the stove to avoid outburst of the
flame that can easily cause burns.
2. Pushing firewood deep into the combustion chamber rather than letting it burn at the
fire box which would otherwise be inefficient and would cause darkening of the front
face of the stove from smoke.
3. Opening hot sufuria lids from the side to avoid scalds from the steam
4. Keeping the firebox door closed to conserve heat and improve on stove’s efficiency

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 5. Regular removal of soot from the chimneys to avoid clogging which would otherwise
minimize effectiveness of the stoves
6. Regular removal of ash and unburnt charcoal from the firebox and combustion
chambers so as to free the air inlet and maintain high performance of the stoves
7. Cleaning the surfaces of the stoves regularly with fresh water
8. Painting the metallic parts regularly to avert rusting which would ultimately cause
corrosion

Photo 5: Cooks being trained on stove usage and maintenance in presence of the head teacher,
BOM representatives and pupils' government reps in Tuum Pry

3.4 Construction Materials

Bulk procurement of locally unavailable materials was done in Nairobi. Quantities of each item
were informed by a guideline that had been provided by KMT. However during
implementation, average consumption of materials was established and summarized in the
below;

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Table 2: Average consumption of stove construction materials

Big 250 litre 300 litre 400 litre 600 litre

Domestic IRS IRS IRS IRS
Item Unit Quantity Quantity Quantity Quantity Quantity
Construction materials
Standard bricks 6” pieces 0 120 120 150 200
Smooth bricks pieces 50 200 200 220 360
50mm
Partition bricks 4” pieces 0 4 4 4 6
Quarry blocks feet 0 100 100 100 100
Ballast WB 0 6 6 6 6
Cement Bags 1 5 5 5 5
Sand Tons 0.5 2 2 2 3
Vermiculite Bags 1 4 4 5 6
Red Oxide Kg 0.5 2 2 2 2.5
Steel work
Chimney pieces 0 5 5 5 5
Angle line pieces 0 3 4 5 5
(40x40x3mm) 20ft
Flat bar (22x3mm) pieces 0 5 5 6 6
40ft
Top ring (4'x8') pieces 0 1 1 2 2
Black sheet 16
gauge
Twisted bar pieces 0 3 4 5 5
(Y16) - 40ft
Welded mesh pieces 0 1 2 2 2
(4'x8') medium
ordinary
Others
Insert No 1 0 0 0 0
Pot No 0 1 1 1 1

3.5 Summary of the beneficiaries

Cordaid installed a total number of 30 institutional stoves in 28 schools reaching a number of

13,901 beneficiaries (7,433 boys and 6,468 girls). All the stoves were distributed
proportionally in public primary schools in the three sub-counties as tabulated below;

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Table 3: Summary of beneficiaries

Beneficiaries
Primary School Stove Capacity Status
Boys Girls Total
1. Sura-adoru Small Domestic & 250l Complete 162 104 266
2. Angata Rongai Small Domestic & 250l Complete 114 76 190
3. Lakira Small Domestic & 250l Complete 123 116 239
4. Lkiloriti Small Domestic & 250l Complete 174 151 325
5. Lmisigiyioi Small Domestic & 250l Complete 290 216 506
6. Loiborngare Small Domestic & 250l Complete 131 143 274
7. Loltulelei Small Domestic & 250l Complete 416 356 772
8. Longewan Small Domestic & 250l Complete 375 340 715
9. Loosuk Small Domestic & 250l Complete 477 405 882
10. Maralal Small Domestic, 250l & 400l Complete 1095 895 1990
11. Morijo Small Domestic & 250l Complete 185 165 350
12. Naiborkeju Small Domestic & 250l Complete 263 270 533
13. Nkopeliani Small Domestic & 250l Complete 192 173 365
14. Nkorika Small Domestic & 250l Complete 187 130 317
15. Pura Small Domestic & 250l Complete 139 115 254
16. Suguta Marmar Small Domestic & 250l Complete 488 417 905
17. Kiltamany Small Domestic & 250l Complete 94 78 172
18. Lodungokwe Small Domestic & 250l Complete 240 177 417
19. Milgis Small Domestic & 250l Complete 55 33 88
20. Wamba DEB Small Domestic & 250l Complete 313 297 610
21. Baragoi Small Domestic, 250l & 400l Complete 372 421 793
22. Lenkima Small Domestic & 250l Complete 125 104 229
23. Latakweny Small Domestic & 250l Complete 175 141 316
24. Marti Small Domestic & 250l Complete 154 144 298
25. Ngilai Small Domestic & 250l Complete 245 199 444
26. South Horr Small Domestic & 400l Complete 512 497 1009
27. Sumuruai Small Domestic & 250l Complete 141 119 260
28. Tuum Small Domestic & 250l Complete 196 186 382
Total 7,433 6,468 13,901

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Photo 6: Excited pupils at Loiborngare Pry School admiring the new IRS in the school's kitchen

3.6 Stove Artisans

By the end of construction of stoves Cordaid had trained a total of 20 people (5 women, 15
men) as artisans to increase the skills within the communities so that they could replicate the
domestic stoves and construct more institutional stoves.
The table below contains details of the local artisans that were trained under the programme.

Table 4: Details for local stove artisans

Name of Artisan Gender Location Remarks

1. Stephen Irungu M Maralal Trained by ToT
2. Josephine Lesilampa F Maralal Trained by ToT
3. Ibrahim Enyaman M Baragoi Trained by ToT
4. John Mugecha M Baragoi Trained by ToT
5. Agnes Akai Elim F Baragoi Trained by ToT
6. Mangoli Samuel M Loikas Trained by ToT
7. Gideon Maithima M Wamba Trained by ToT
8. Gabriel Lelokuru M Wamba Trained by ToT
9. John Lelesit M Maralal Trained by ToT
10. Lesaipo Leemoonga M Maralal Trained by ToT
11. Raphaela Leomog F Tuum New artisan
12. Sammy Letimas M Tuum New artisan

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 13. Joseph Macharia M Maralal New artisan
14. George Waithaka M Baawa New artisan
15. Joyce Wambui F Maralal New artisan
16. Vincent Faram M Maralal New artisan
17. Jonathan Lepaadasa M Maralal New artisan
18. Eunice Njeri F South Horr New artisan
19. Evans Mwangi M South Horr New artisan
20. Marios Lekenit M Tuum New artisan

With the help of these artisans, community members were encouraged to mobilize groups of
at least 10members each and register with the artisan from their locality. The artisan would
then link them up with Cordaid in order to organize on how they would acquire materials that
are not locally available. By the end of the project, a number of artisans had reported the
overwhelming interest expressed by members of the community from their localities in having
the domestic stoves. However facilitation to acquire materials and construct the stoves for the
community members was not possible due to the complexity of the project and the time
constraint factor.
Plans have been underway to organize a meeting for all the artisans and link them to ISAK so
that they can work as an organized group and regulate themselves, and also enable them to get
benefits without taking an undue advantage of the community. This is expected to deepen the
adoption of the technology within the community.

3.7 Impact of stoves and leverage by schools

The first beneficiary of the stoves in Samburu County was Baragoi Primary School. When
visited during a monitoring mission, the head teacher, Mr. Boniface Lonyait had the following
to say as feedback, “the expenditure on firewood has reduced by 60%. In terms of the health
of the cooks, there are less complains of challenges with their eyes and respiratory problems.
Meals are prepared and served while warm and at the right time, saving time for the learners.
Cleanliness of the kitchen has greatly improved. We use 7 pieces of firewood daily and, above
all, small pieces which were being wasted before are now used. The school made some savings
and used it for the following; bought buckets and small sufurias, supplemented the meals for
boarders by providing kales and cabbages, paid water bill. In future the savings will be used
for buying mattresses and repair of beds. We have showed the stoves to the parents and the

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Sponsor (Catholic Church), some teachers and BOM members have shown interest in the
domestic stove. We appreciate the work done by Cordaid.’’
The BOM of Maralal DEB acknowledged reduction in the consumption of fuel by about 50%.
Out of the savings the school plans to buy a power saw for cutting firewood into small pieces
to ease the use on the combustion chamber. The power saw is estimated to cost KES 45,000.00.
“The use of firewood has reduced by almost 50%. We plan to buy a power saw which will be
used to chop the firewood into small pieces which can fit into the combustion chamber of the
stove.” Musa Abdille, Headteacher Maralal Primary school.
About five schools took up the challenge to add value to their kitchens. The structures did not
have enough space initially. Some adjusted while others are planning to adjust their kitchens;
indeed, “a change brings about change”.
1. Marti Pry: Rehabilitated the kitchen because the structure was not looking good with the
stove. The school spent KES 40,000.00 on materials, transport and labor. This is an
important leverage from the school BOM. “Firewood which used to be for cooking one
day now lasts for three days. There is no smoke, one can even sleep in the kitchen now.
We plan to use the domestic stove for demonstration and educating the parents”. Mr.
Loibash William, Head teacher Marti Primary School.
2. Lenkima: the space between the roof and stove was small and cooks could not remove
the sufuria, “the objective was to increase space, ventilation and make work easier for
the cooks”. The BOM allocated KES 20,000.00 from FPE Grant.
3. Sumuruai: a new kitchen is under construction so as to accommodate the IRS. By the
time of commissioning the stoves, the school had spent KES 6,000.00
4. Lakira: plans to renovate the kitchen by casting the floor and installing lockable door and
windows to safeguard the stoves.
5. Loltulelei Pry: intends to expand the kitchen which is currently small for the 400l
institutional stove.

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 Photo 7: State of the Kitchen at Sumuruai Pry Photo 8: New kitchen being constructed at Sumuruai
before installation of the IRS Pry after installation of the IRS

3.8 Challenges in implementation

Implementation of stove installation activity was faced with a number of challenges, among
them being;
1. Unavailability of most of the construction materials locally. Apart from cement, sand,
ballast and masonry blocks, all the other materials were purchased in bulk from
Nairobi. Their procurement and delivery to Samburu took much time hence delaying
the implementation pace.
2. Bad terrain made it hard to distribute the construction materials to all the schools, some
of which are situated in extreme locations of the county. The situation worsened during
the rainy season when most of the roads are impassable thus hampering even ferrying
of the artisans and monitoring of the works.
3. Insecurity in the area, mainly due to ethnic animosity that exists in the County. At
times it was difficult to send artisans of a particular ethnic group to schools located in
the region dominated by their adversaries. This prompted the implementation plans to
be reorganized often depending on the security situation at hand thus causing much
delays in the programme.
4. Failure to follow instructions on curing of the stoves made stoves in some schools to
start developing cracks immediately after firing. This called for redeployment of the
skilled artisans to rectify the defects at extra cost and also slowed down the pace of
constructing more stoves.
5. Maintenance difficulties were noted due to the nature of the IRS. Cracked surfaces,
especially internal ones, which cannot be easily sealed would call for demolition of
part or whole of the stove in order to correct the defect.
6. Poor state of most school kitchens was a big challenge to this activity. Some kitchens
did not have concrete floors thus artisans were forced to cast the floor first on the

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 portion to be installed with the stove. This consumed much installation time and cost
since more materials were required. Some kitchens had limited space to accommodate
the institutional stoves. This forced some BOMs to surrender any available space such
as for dining halls and stores in order to benefit from the intervention. This occurred
particularly in Suguta Marmar, Lmisigiyioi, Tuum and Angata Rongai Primary
Schools. Other kitchens were unlockable thus the installed stoves were always
susceptible to destruction by pupils and in some cases by livestock that invaded school
compounds in absence of watchmen.
7. The members of the community who were interested with the small domestic stoves
expressed several shortcomings that had not been considered in the design of the IRS.
These include;
i. Samburu being a pastoralist community, most people are nomadic and they
would have preferred portable stoves instead of the ones presented, which were
considered to be only suitable for permanent households.
ii. Most people were concerned that the small sizes of their houses, alias
“manyattas” could not accommodate either sizes of the domestic stoves as much
as they would have wanted to adopt them.
iii. It was noted that due to the insulated nature of the stove walls, it would be
difficult for the stoves to emit heat to the surroundings, hence not suitable for
warming up the houses in the cold evenings. Old men are used to surrounding
the fire place on a three-stone jiko in the evenings.

Photo 9: Poor state of the kitchen at Sura Adoru Pry

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CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusion

Recommendations

APPENDIX
Technical drawing
Inspection template

1. Rocket stoves

Provide a single report with list of recipients and interest made by the community regarding
the small domestic stove with savings.

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