Only 5 % has acess to clean energy cooking solutions in Tanzania

Nearly 83% of the energy used in Tanzania is exploited from biomass, mainly firewood and charcoal. These energy sources are largely used for cooking and heating. According to Tanzania Energy Access and Use Situation Survey (2020), 62.3% of Tanzania Mainland households remained unelectrified whereby 76.6% of households connected to electricity use it for lighting and only 0.8% for cooking purposes. It is estimated that, only 5% of Tanzanians have access to clean energy solutions leaving the other 95% depending on non-clean energy cooking solutions particularly firewood and charcoal. Thus, there is the need for deliberate initiatives to be undertaken by the government and other key stakeholders to promote clean energy access in the country.

42 % in Bagamoyo unaware of clean energy

In realization of this challenge, A Netherlands based organization known as HIVOS and Climate Action Network Tanzania implememted the project named “Contextualizing the Bottom-up Approach on Influencing the Transition to Clean and Affordable Energy Systems in Tanzania” in Bagamoyo District. The project baseline study explored that 42% of the households in the district are completely unaware on the potentials for the use of clean energy in the district and that 91% of households rely on charcoal and firewood as the source of energy for cooking. In line to such findings, CAN Tanzania together with the youth groups of Makurunge and Kidomole villages in the district organized a local innovation training on energy saving cooking stoves to steer and promote for the clean energy technologies in the area. 

Empowering the Youth: Learning how to build energy saving cooking stoves

CAN Tanzania organized and supported a 4 days training on innovation for energy saving cooking stoves targeting 10 youths from two villages of Makurunge and Kidomole in Bagamoyo District. This training gathered 10 youth participants (60% men and 40% women). Training participants were identified through village leaders via suburb leaders with respect to residences and gender aspects. At the end of the training, 22 energy saving cooking stoves were fabricated by the use of cost-effective materials (Iron sheets) that intended to be donated to all participating youth, village leaders, district political and technical leaders 

Changing Cooking- Changing Lives

Each of the fabricated stoves reduced 60% of firewood formerly used by traditional cooking stoves. All 10 trained youth already started planning to initiate long term initiatives to continue fabricating more energy saving stoves for resale and thus earn income. This will contribute greatly to the reduction of firewood demands per household resulting to reduced firewood fetching pressures to natural and man-made forests as well as allows recovery of already destructed forests