The beautiful countryside of Kenya is marred by the ever-present columns of smoke and the constant scent of burning wood.  This is a problem for Kenyans that does not have an easy solution.  The Kenyan government is doing its best to provide water and electricity to a nation without roads or resources for the most basic humanitarian needs.  Parliament says it will take many years, in the best of circumstances, to accomplish this goal.

In the meantime, the people of Kenya need to eat.  The majority of the population use firewood and charcoal to prepare their meals.  The wood supplies are dwindling and the landscape is showing the devastation as timberland decreases.  On top of this, the women of Kenya are inhaling smoke several hours each day as they prepare the family meals.  Many women suffer diseases seen in heavy smokers and several have lost partial to complete vision due to the popping embers of the fires.

Several Kenyan families have separate thatched roofed kitchen with a single door and window.  These women are surrounded by smoke only during the cooking process, but many Kenyan families have a single room in their home where meals are prepared.  I have been in these homes.  There is not a corner that is not permeated with the stench of charred wood.  The used wood is stored in the rafters of the home until it is needed for additional meals.

There is hope, and Grow Missions is working with the women of Kenya to provide Solar Cookers in an effort to reduce the dependency on firewood.  These panel cookers use a reflective panel, a dark pot with lid, and a heavy plastic “oven” to heat food.  Food that can be prepared in a traditional oven can be prepared in a solar cooker.  Most meals are ready to eat within a few hours.  Solar Cookers are well suited to Kenya’s long hot sunny days. 

Grow Missions will strive to lessen the burden of Kenyan women with Solar Cookers, training in their use, and encouragement to share this knowledge with other Kenyan women until such time, in the far distant future, that cook fires are only for outdoor camping.