The making of energy saving stoves/cooking places has been modified to suit the rural poor.
The Promotion of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Programme by German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and the Ministry of Energy is now making the stoves from soil and grass, instead of bricks and cement.
John Kuteesakwe, the Project Coordinator in charge of Biomass says that the original technology was appropriate but not affordable.
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The stoves are now being built in Kampala, Mbarara, Bushenyi, Kiruhura, Rakai, Masindi and Wakiso, following a trend of wood fuel scarcity in the communities.
Kuteesakwe explains that the stoves' efficiency is subjected to three tests, before they can be used.
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The soil-and-grass stove is estimated to save about 60 percent wood fuel than an ordinary cooking place.
Leonard Mugerwa, the Technical Officer in charge of the stoves, says that they work with about 15 artisan enterprises countrywide.
The artisans receive training in mixing the soil with dry grass and are then deployed to build for households and institutions in the area. A household pays about 20, 000 UShs to have a stove built for them. The original brick ones cost about 300, 000 UShs to build.
Patrick Bisere, an artisan and Managing Director of Prime Energy and Environment Savers, says that the new technology is much more practical because the materials are easily available. He adds that the project always supervises to see if his work meets their standards.
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Bisere says that his company has constructed 93 institutional stoves in 35 prison stations so far.
