Research wraps up!

This is Grace, one of my two great research assistants. They were both natural extensionists, who clearly explained characteristics of, in this case, a fireless cooker. What she is touching is a locally made insulated basket that keeps food warm for 12 hours, and can actually help in cooking! Just bring rice to the boiling point, and put the whole pot in this basket (pots in Kenya lack handles), cover it with a lid, push the pillow bit down snugly, and voila, 30 minutes later, perfect rice (and no risk of burning to the bottom!).

The scene at one of the feedback sessions we gave to interview participants, their friends and families in Mtarakwa Endebess. Note the interested school children in the back ground... I was delighted they joined in watching the demonstrations! Another feedback session- at a school ground. These are teachers and parents mostly, and it was organised by the principal.

This was the best feedback session of them all... no one that was invited showed up, but after an hour and a half waiting for them, as we were about to pack up, a few women wandered over to see what these stoves were about. Soon there was a crowd of 20-30 people all listening, learning, then teaching others who came about the eight different stove models we had pictures or real-life examples of. The excitement was quite contagious.

The four of us on the right are: Jen the driver (our 'pilot'), Okumu and Grace (research assistants) me of course, and three friendly workshop participants. Behind are some sketch drawings we used for describing different stove models.

This is me giving my final feedback to SCC-Vi and Ministry of Agriculture Home Economics staff. This was a lovely conference room that was part of the SCC-Vi agroforestry center.

Hooray! Me in my Kenyan outfit and Vi hat with a copy of the preliminary findings! Here's a formal thanks: This project was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Government of Ontario and the University of Guelph. In-kind support was given by the Swedish Cooperative Centre’s Vi Agroforestry Project in Kitale, Kenya. Special thanks to all of the study participants throughout Trans Nzoia district.
The formal name for the thesis will be: (Still) a burning issue: factors that affect the use of fuel efficient stoves in rural Kenya