The Future of Africa Lies in Energy-Saving Jikos

Global warming is now a global issue. The world is changing so fast and the results of man’s activities can be seen and felt in most parts of the world.

Most counties, especially in Africa, are experiencing changes in weather patterns. Arid and semi-arid areas are expanding with each passing day as extreme temperatures continue to sweep across the world.

One of the greatest cause of the changes in weather patterns across the world is the use of unclean energy such as the use of kerosene, firewood and charcoal.

Access to clean energy, especially fuel, is what countries around the world should embrace in an effort to reduce excessive loss of energy at household level.

In Africa, using firewood to heat and light is the order of the day in most rural areas. People across Africa still use the “open-air” method of cooking: use of three stones that need a lot of fuel in terms of firewood to cook.

Demand for firewood had heaped pressure on forests around the continent. Globally, the earth is losing 3 million hectares of forests each year, at least 200,000 hectares of forests every month.

Environmental analysts have been championing for an uptake of clean fuel among households in Africa. In Kenya, the government had plans to have poor household access affordable gas cylinders to increase the use of clean fuel. The plan died before take off.

Study shows that a common Kenyan in the rural areas walks between 10 to 20 kilometres in search of firewood. Some households use between 20 to 25 percent of their income on firewood.

60 percent of households in Kenya use firewood and charcoal for cooking and heating. This has led to the faster disappearance of forests across the country. Kenya now has less than 6 percent of forest cover.

The coming of energy-saving Jikos has been seen as the best thing that has ever happened in an attempt to save the earth. Most households in Kenya, both in urban and rural areas, have started embracing the use of energy-saving Jikos.

“People forget one thing; that we need the earth more than it needs us. We have no option but to save the earth,” said Mrs. Jane Namarome, a teacher of Geography in Nakuru.

Although energy-saving Jikos still use firewood and charcoal, they are enhanced in such a way that they conserve energy while using less fuel.

“Comparing the traditional ‘mekos’ and energy-saving Jikos, the Jikos use less charcoal/firewood. They cook fast, emit no smoke, therefore, no carbon emission,” said Peter Scott, the CEO and Founder of Burn, makers of Jikokoa brand.