On Community level awareness, we are painting Murals in public places to create community level awareness and promote behavior change using behavior change communication strategies (BCC)

We are working to promote reproductive health among the youth.

PARTNERS:

Nyeri Business community -Food donations

PEACE DIRECT
Digital Inclusion Fund

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KSEI is working with Painting a new world to support Community Empowerment through art Programme. creating community-level awareness on climate change, Governance, Corruption, Health and cultural issues. Through this programme, the livelihood of individual artists is impacted positively while community’s awareness is created.

The programme aims at transforming lives through art.

The mission of Painting a New World (PNMW)

Painting a New World / Peindre un Nouveau Monde (PNMW) is a nonprofit organization founded in Montreal in 2008 by artists Agnes Jorgensen and Andre Chatelain.

The organization focuses mainly on supporting artists in Africa and Haiti through a mural art program. The murals must be appropriate to the context of the community and present a socially conscious message. Murals are painted on school walls and/or community centres by local artists.

The aim of the artwork is to create positive change by employing local artists and educating a community about their environment and future.

The mural project is funded by the founders of PNMW, Agnes and Andre, through the sales of their original artworks.

A word from Joram Mathenge, Executive Director Kiangure Springs Environment Initiative in Kenya:

“KSEI is grateful for the continued support from PNWM and looks forward to a continued partnership in the year 2016.  Your financial support has helped our program to grow together with our artists. They have transformed their community through their mural work. They have also earned a living and improved their financial status.  As a result, they have become leaders in their own communities and are regarded as opinion leaders. The program has created a big impact in this part of the world since art has a lasting impact. We thank Andre and Agnes for their wonderful vision and pray that you continue to transform the lives of upcoming artists in the developing world.”

Artists, Agnes Jorgensen and Andre Chatelain are passionate about painting the infinite beauties of Africa. It was our trip to Kenya in 2008 where we witnessed how art has the power to create positive change. We witnessed how art, together with education, inspired young people to shape a better future for themselves.

A Word from Agnes Jorgensen and Andre Chatelain

 ‘’ In August 2008, while travelling to Kenya with the organization Free The Children, Agnes and Andre from Painting a New World (PNMW) provided art supplies and instruction to a group of students in the Masai Mara.  It was inspiring to see the creative murals produced by students holding a paintbrush for the first time. One mural was auctioned to a generous group of guests which raised $15,000 for a new school classroom and a well for access to clean water. ‘’

This realization impacted our lives in so many ways and the creation of PNMW to reach out and help artists in Africa was reinforced.

In 2009, Andre and I through Painting a New World received the first Humanity Award from the International Fine Arts Academy of Quebec, recognizing the involvement of artists in a humanitarian cause.

Painting A New World

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The purpose of this program is to create an empowered society that can demand democratic practice at all levels and participate in Governance & Democracy issues. The main projects under this include the Alternative Leadership Programme, Women Civic Empowerment Program, Youth Empowerment program and Natural resource management.
The overall objective of this programme is to entrench community participation in governance and democratic processes thereby creating an informed society that can demand democratic practices at all levels and participate in development issues.

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Youth Empowerment Program operates a youth empowerment centre where young people nurture their talents and learn life-changing skills and gain economic empowerment and incubation.

We train them on various renewable energy technologies.

Opportunities for supporting the programme.

You can support the youth in their project

Buy 1 soccer ball:  $15.00
Buy 1 volleyball and 1 net:  $40.00
Sponsor a youth event:  $50.00
Support a youth start income-generating activity: $100
 

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This component focuses on the improvement of sanitation both at domestic and institutional level. The domestic water supply and quality to mitigate the effects of waterborne and other diseases in the community. This is done through sanitation education and conservation of natural water sources. As a results:

a)      The time freed up from water collection means women have more time for work and productivity within the community increases

b)      When children no longer have to collect water they can spend more time in education, improving their chances of a brighter future

c)      Hygiene education programmes and practices dramatically improve the health of a community, heavily reducing the amount of water related diseases and deaths

 Clean water lays the foundations to a brighter future and creates a happier world

For every $1 invested in water and sanitation, there is an economic return of between $3 – $34 (WHO)

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Farmers receive Improved Cookstoves for tree planting and conservation in Nyeri hill forest.

Kiangure Springs Environment Initiative (KSEI) works with Upper Tana catchment communities through a watershed-based approach to conserve and restore degraded watersheds of key water catchments in the Aberdare and Mt.Kenya Forests so as to improve their functions and improve the livelihood of the local communities.

We use an integrated approach that sustainably supports the economy of the forest communities through diversified Income Generating Activities (IGA) including Beekeeping tree nurseries, fish farming, Poultry, goat keeping and fruit tree farming in farmlands. Best farmers in Tree planting and farm management receive Improved Cookstoves and Solar lamps as Payment for Ecosystem Services.

Since 2007, KSEI together with its partners has planted 2.5 million trees within the Aberdare and Mt.Kenya ecosystems. In 2017 Kiangure Springs environment Initiative was awarded by Kenya Forest Service in recognition of efforts in tree growing and forest conservation. We were first runners-up in the community group category for high rainfall areas.

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This programme seeks to improve food security and ensure sustainable livelihoods through integrated intervention focusing on Sustainable Agriculture

Supporting financial services and business development: We support people’s ability to save and access credit through community savings and loans groups and expand business skills development work through table banking.
Boosting harvests and increasing access to markets: We work with farmers to improve farm productivity as well as post-harvest storage and market awareness to help ensure rural households have access to food throughout the year, as well the opportunity to increase their

income.
Strengthening resilience to shocks and stresses: We will empower communities to prepare for external stresses such as droughts and price fluctuations through income diversification, water and land management and conservation

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Under Gender and Hiv/Aids Programme, KSEI has in the last Ten years been involved in awareness creation, sensitization and behavior change advocacy focusing especially on women and youth empowerment as the most vulnerable group.

HIV and AIDS has major economic and social impact on individuals, families, communities and on society as a whole. In Kenya, as in other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, AIDS threatens personal and national Well-being by negatively affecting health, lifespan, and productive capacity of the individual; and critically,by severely constraining the accumulation of human capital, and its transfer between generations.Research across many

severely affected, low income countries clearly demonstrates that HIV and AIDS is the most serious impediment to economic growth and development in such countries. Several studies have suggested that HIV and AIDS undermines development across all sectors of the economy and society, though further research is required to quantify the impact. Major challenges include:

1)  The productivity of the agriculture sector, upon which the majority of Kenyans rely for their livelihood, is undermined by negative impacts on the supply of labour, crop production,agricultural extension services, loss of knowledge and skills and at a personal level the trauma associated with death.  Consequences include reduced household and community food securityand decline in the nutritional and health status of smallholders and their families.  Commercial agriculture, a major source of employment and foreign earnings, is detrimentally affected by increasing health costs as well as protracted morbidity and mortality of key workers. 

2)  Educational services suffer as teachers are lost to AIDS and children drop out of school as parents die and household incomes fall.  The health service loses trained staff and has to cope with the increasing burden of HIV-related infections.

3) The direct cost and social problems associated with caring for increasing numbers of orphans,coupled with existing high poverty levels place severe burdens on family and societal structures. In addition to these direct effects on production and social services, there is a growing realisation that HIVand AIDS may undermine the long-term revenue base of the economy, and so reduce Government’s capacity to provide the infrastructure and social services essential for long-term economic growth.

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“Since I started using biogas in my house, the kitchen is free of smoke, the cooking is faster (Outcome of Renewable Energy Promotion)

           And I no longer use firewood to cook anymore. Kiangure Springs Environment 

              Initiative have trained my family on how to use the bio-slurry in the farm. Iam

                 Now marketing vegetables in the local market earning and earning about

                    Ksh.300 a day”

Mrs.Ndang’ai Biogas Beneficiary,

Tetu Sub-County, Kenya

Background about Renewable Energy Promotion

According to Kenya’s Second National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) the Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sectors contribute significantly to GHG emissions,

Biomass fuels are the most important source of primary energy in Kenya with fuelwood (firewood and charcoal) accounting for over 68% of total primary energy consumption.

About 85% of the population in Central Kenya lives in the rural parts of the country. This segment of the population is totally dependent on the use of biomass consisting of firewood, charcoal, twigs, straw, crop residues, and cow dung to meet its energy demands for cooking and other domestic needs. It is estimated that the domestic biomass consumption for fuel is as high as 72% with very little use of modern sources of energy such as electricity and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).The use of biomass as fuel has serious ill effects such as degradation of environment due to deforestation, loss of soil fertility due to diversion of animal manure which acts as fertilizer and various health hazards particularly associated with rural women and children due to Indoor House Pollution (IHP). It is estimated that in the past 50 years the land covered by forest has dropped from approximately 50% to less than3%. Some experts attribute this mostly to forest clearing for cultivation and cutting trees for fuel, activities highly exasperated by population growth.

 The current rate of deforestation is estimated to cover 200,000 hectares of land per year. Unless the rate of deforestation is arrested, Kenya could lose all its natural forests in 20 years. Biomass combustion in households using traditional three stone fire place that lacks any provision for smoke exhaust exposes particularly women and children to smoke containing harmful products. Prolonged exposure to smoke is responsible for coughing, wheezing, acute respiratory infection, chronic obstructive lung disease, adverse pregnancy outcomes and lung cancer. Deforestation has made fire wood scarce as a result of which women and their young ones are forced to spend more time in fetching fire wood. In addition to being a heavy burden, fire wood fetching, in conjunction with other factors, is taking so much of the time of children that it may be said to be adversely affecting the literacy rate due to non-availability of time for education.

Schools, hotels,  Tea factories and the cottage industries rely heavily on fuel wood   and are one of the  largest consumer of firewood in the catchment  causing forest degradation , biodiversity loss and massive erosion. Many Rural households and businesses remain “off-grid” .This exclusion hampers rural socio-economic development  and is  leading the rural business community into using  diesel generators, kerosene lamps, dry cell batteries, and candles contributing to GHG emissions  and exposing them to related accidents and high costs. Rural communities cannot afford current electricity connection prices due to the prevailing cycle of   poverty. Availability of affordable energy sources like solar will catalyze economic growth in rural areas and contribute significantly to emission reduction.

Finances have been a barrier in adoption of Renewable Energy Promotion & technologies in Africa and Kenya in particular.KSEI is providing subsidized and affordable options to promoting accessibility of these technologies to the poor.

The altered rainfall patterns resulting from climate change have also caused many communities to shift their focus from agricultural and livestock production which is their main stay to unsustainable livelihood activities such as cutting down of trees, charcoal burning and quarrying along the River banks and other vulnerable areas among other destructive activities to meet their financial obligations.  These activities have not only depleted the natural resources in the County but have further fueled climate change and natural resources degradation. Like in most parts of Kenya, over 85% of the energy needs in Nyeri County are met by fuel wood and charcoal; as such there has been a great loss of vegetation cover in the region bringing about extensive soil erosion which has resulted in the decrease of agricultural productivity subsequently threatening the regions food security. 

The root cause of many of these problems is directly linked to poverty and lack of employment opportunities. Currently more than 75% of the population in the project area depends directly on small-scale business enterprises and provision of unskilled labour for the neighboring commercial farms.  Even with intensive environmental awareness and education campaigns, many community members are not able to change their lifestyles as a result of limited financial capacity.  This situation is not likely to improve unless the community initiatives are supported in a bid to meet household energy requirements while contributing to climate change mitigation.

KSEI fabricates and distributes Improved Cook stoves(ICS) for households and institutions to reduce on the pressure exerted on local forests since over 80% of households in the Upper Tana Catchment rely on wood for fuel. We are Installing Institutional stoves and promoting Biomass Briquettes to save our forests. We promote Rocket Stove, Jiko Kiisasa, Miracle Stove and Jiko Smart among others.

Cook Stoves

KSEI fabricates and distributes Improved Cook stoves(ICS) for households and institutions to reduce on the pressure exerted on local forests since over 80% of households in the Upper Tana Catchment rely on wood for fuel. We are Installing Institutional stoves and promoting Biomass Briquettes to save our forests. We promote Rocket Stove, Jiko Kisasa (multi-purpose), Miracle Stove and Jiko Smart among others.

Jiko Kisasa (multipurpose)

Stove Production Centre

Stove Builders Training

BIOMASS BRIQUETTES.

Briquette making was introduced with an intention of complementing adoption of energy saving stoves with use of the right fuel that is less polluting. Briquettes will reduce dependency of the community on wood and charcoal as their major fuel. Briquettes are made from charcoal waste, farm residue, coffee husks to provide a source of income for local people involved in the fabrication process.

Briquettes Production

KSEI Board Members Receiving A briquette Making Machine From Kenya Forest Service

Biogas

KSEI is jointly working with dairy farmers ,Schools and businesses  to enhance adoption of bio-gas technology in households,hotels  and schools . The objective of this project is to increase the use of bio-gas energy in promoting sustainable rural development in Kenya and in reducing the negative global and local environmental impacts associated with the use of fossil fuels ,wood and the environmentally not sound management of the agricultural and solid waste.Over 300 bogas units installed in schools and rural households.

Institutional Bio-gas Construction

Tetu Member of Parliament Hon. Ndung’u Githinji Commissioning Bio-Gas at Ihithe Secondary School

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Kiangure Springs Environment Initiative started the Miracle stove project in May 2018   following the Introduction by Mr. Kevin of Sun 24 and the Donation of $200 dollars for piloting the production and distribution of the stove. As a result, the project has been adopted as a project under the renewable energy programme.

Project Title: Miracle Stove Production and Promotion Project

Goal: To mitigate climate change by reducing carbon emissions and the degradation of natural resources from the use of dirty cooking and lighting fuels including firewood and kerosene through the promotion of Miracle Stoves.

Objective: To accelerate access to clean energy for poor and rural communities by enhancing clean cooking through the promotion of the miracle stove while promoting entrepreneurship development and support.

Expected Results

– 10,000 households with access to clean cooking

– 200 women and youth entrepreneurs integrated into the energy value chain

– Over 200 jobs were created by the beneficiary women entrepreneurs

– Sale of clean cooking products increased by 50%

Implementation Plan

The main focus of this program will be on the development, production and distribution of . This will be through business management and technology capacity development and extended mentoring tailored to the specific needs of each client, including market development support.

The program will be implemented in the Upper Tana catchment region covering the Mt.Kenya and Aberdare Ecosystems Covering Nine Counties namely :

Nyeri, Muranga, Kiambu, Nyandarua,Laikipia,Kirinyaga,Embu Meru and Tharaka Nithi

 In order to avail ourselves of the experience and resources of our ongoing in- county projects, we will strive to work with our existing clients, with a view to expanding their product range.

Background

About 85-90% of the population in Central Kenya lives in the rural parts of the country. This segment of the population is totally dependent on the use of biomass consisting of firewood, charcoal, twigs, straw, crop residues, and cow dung to meet its energy demands for cooking and other domestic needs. It is estimated that the domestic biomass consumption for fuel is as high as 72% with very little use of modern sources of energy such as electricity and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The use of biomass as fuel has serious ill effects such as degradation of the environment due to deforestation, loss of soil fertility due to diversion of animal manure which acts as a fertilizer and various health hazards particularly associated with rural women and children. It is estimated that in the past 50 years the land covered by forest has dropped from approximately 50% to less than3%. Some experts attribute this mostly to forest clearing for cultivation and cutting trees for fuel, activities highly exasperated by population growth.

 The current rate of deforestation is estimated to cover 200,000 hectares of land per year. Unless the rate of deforestation is arrested, Kenya could lose all its natural forests in 20 years. Biomass combustion in households using traditional three-stone fireplace that lacks any provision for smoke exhaust exposes particularly women and children to smoke containing harmful products. Prolonged exposure to smoke is responsible for coughing, wheezing, acute respiratory infection, chronic obstructive lung disease, adverse pregnancy outcomes and lung cancer. Deforestation has made firewood scarce a result of which women and their young ones are forced to spend more time fetching firewood. In addition to being a heavy burden, firewood fetching, in conjunction with other factors, is taking so much of the time of children that it may be said to be adversely affecting the literacy rate due to the non-availability of time for education.

KEY: HH-Household

The upper Tana catchment region has a population of over 2 million with over 200,000 Households.

SUN 24 has provided funds to purchase materials to produce 50 stoves for piloting the project. Materials include:

1)      Moulds

2)      Clay

3)      Metal bars for making pot rest and wood elevators

STOVE DESIGN AND DIMENSIONS

Stove design and dimensions were provided by SUN 24 to guide the implementation of the project.

 Our stove is 25x25x24

However we are experimenting various sizes to suit the needs of our community.

PROCESS

The process stated with material collection and preparation.

We excavated clay and soaked it in water to remove impurities and prepare it for molding.

The clay was mixed with vermiculite to improve the texture and increase its  non-conductivity of heat

The mould is 25x25x12 and made of wood with fixed handles.

The Bricks are made using the moulds and prepared accordingly.

The Pot is fixed with a pot rest. We joined the three metal bars by soldering them together to form a strong triangular structure that is fixed on top of the stove. It will be fixed once the stove is fired. It leaves a 4cm space for air circulation.

Once the two bricks are joined, they will form a stove of 25x25x24 cm

WOOD ELEVATOR

The wood elevator is made of three small metal bars of 18cm by 6cm in length and then joined together with solder to form a strong triangular structure. We realized that most of the households have cemented kitchens and wood elevators cannot be fixed on the ground. However in those not cemented, we are using the bar with 11cm length so that it can be firmly fixed on the ground.

TESTING WOOD ELEVATORS AND STOVES

We have tested the wood elevators and they are working fine. We have also donated five elevators to five households and they have observed the following:

i)                     The space beneath the wood is facilitating easier lighting of the fire

ii)                  The Wood  elevators ensure that the ash doe not  interfere with the burning wood

iii)                There is more air circulation hence the wood burns easily and efficiently\

iv)                 They observed that the wood elevator has contributed to the elimination of smoke in the kitchen.

v)                  The Elevators have facilitated easier refuelling of the fire since the burning fire remains intact.

vi) In cases where the wood is not fully dry, the elevator keeps the wood suspended enabling the wood to be dried by the heat from the fire and burn at the same time.

TESTING THE MIRACLE STOVE

We have produced 60 stoves so far and 20 have been donated to rural households for testing. So far  the stoves are working well with the following observations from the households

i)                    The Miracle stove is an efficient and hot burning stove using small pieces of wood fuel hence suitable for rural households where wood fuel is becoming scarce .

ii)                   Fuel is burned in a simple combustion chamber containing an insulated vertical chimney, which ensures complete combustion before to the flames reach the cooking surface.

iii)                In field tests in the project area,100% (20 households issued with the stove) have observed that the miracle stove is reducing wood consumption to over 50%

iv)                60%  who were previously using the simple traditional open three-stone fire have permanently switched to using the miracle stove .

v)                  All the beneficiaries have testified that the stove has greatly reduced smoke pollution in the kitchen hence healthier.

vi)                All  the beneficiaries have agreed that the stove cooks faster and efficiently compared to the traditional ones.

vii)              We have observed that the stove works well with dry wood.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1)      There in need to develop the stove further to ensure it holds more weight to stop cracking hence durability.

FUTURE PLANS

We continue with the tests and more production. The project area has more potential since there is an energy crisis following the government policy to ban local forest exploitation for six months starting August 2018.this was due to massive destruction of the forests.

The result of the burn is reduced supply of wood and increased prices of wood fuel hence burden to the poor household.The Miracle stove is indeed a miracle to many since  it will greatly enable households adjust to the existing problem.

We  Have an energy centre where we plan to build a bigger Kiln for firing stoves.

Energy resource centre under construction

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