As we await for the purchase of our boda (local word for bike here in Kampala), we are making improved cook stove deliveries to schools, as orders are flooding in. Blessings to our staff for putting up graciously with such events, and our boda driver Matthew.
Uganda Climate Change Symposium
On Thursday we participated at the Uganda Climate Change Symposium, organised by the MInistry of Water Climate Change Department, and NTV under the theme "A climate smart Uganda, a proud Ugandan" at the Kampala Serena hotel. It was a great opportunity to share debate, dialogue and engage with other stakeholders as government and the private sector work together to ensure a harmonised approach towards a climate-resilient and low-carbon path for Uganda.
Thus symposium explored opportunities in climate change and how they could be utilised to enhance Uganda's transformative economic growth and development agenda. We welcome this type of initiative and were glad to see government, private sector, development partners and CSOs all working together towards achieving a sustainable approach in agriculture, water management and natural resources.
Simoshi's exhibition space during the symposium
Guest of Honor at Science Fair
What a great way to kick-off October by receiving the invitation from Kabowa Church of Uganda Primary School to become the guest of honor during their second Science Fair. We have enjoyed watching the children (aged 6 to 12) proudly share their scientific knowledge!
Kabowa Churcg of Uganda Primary School was founded by Kabowa Church of Uganda in 1952. Mrs. Mary Kintu and Ms Ssonko, teachers and members of the church developed and idea of founding a school. They started with one boy and two girls under a mango tree beside the old church building (a tree that is still standing).
In 2004 the school befell a disaster under heavy rainfall and five classrooms collapsed. KCCA constructed a storied block of seven classrooms, office and a library with water borne toilets.
The Science Fair was also an opportunity for the school to officially inaugurate the new kitchen and institutional improved cook stoves donated by KCCA and Expertise France and the 1,000 litres water tank donated by 3Z Foundation.
School Workshop
Last Friday we invited all participating schools to the workshop that took place at GRACES restaurant in Lubowa. The meeting's objective was (i) to reinforce all lessons learned on school's experiences using the institutional improved cook stoves (IICS) in their kitchens and (ii) to introduce a new project soon to be launched by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (more information to be posted soon).
The different presentations from SImoshi and Ugastove were enjoyed by an engaged audience, and many school representatives had great experiences to share. Some of our slides focused on ensuring that the holistic approach Simoshi implements in the kitchen environment is well understood so we can collaborate towards a smooth joint implementation. Training of the kitchen staff, firewood storage, free annual maintenance events and kitchen hygiene were some of the topics discussed.
We looked at the progress made to date with the registered project activity with the Clean Development Mechanism and the Gold Standard and review the concept behind carbon dioxide emission reductions and how future revenues accrued from the sale of carbon credits will support all IICS related maintenance costs, between other.
Our New Team Member
We welcome our new Project Officer, Mrs. Lazia Babra Nalumansi to the team. Today Conrad will be leading the training as he introduces Babra to her cluster of schools she will be closely monitoring in the future. We look forward to sharing her stories from the ground.
Babra and Conrad ready for action!
Amazing School Events
We are very lucky to be invited to School Competitions, and have the privilege to see the children perform. This time, the special event took place at Kitebi Secondary School, with a delicious lunch served for everyone. So many guests are invited, that the kitchen cannot cope with the institutional improved cook stoves to prepare the food for such high number of people.
During such events, extra 3-stone fires had to be set outside the kitchen area to ensure food is ready for everyone on time. Fortunately, these unusual inefficient cooking days only happen three times a year!
Together We Can
This week we had a wrap up meeting with the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) on the results accrued so far from the installation of institutional improved cook stoves (IICS) in 15 KCCA primary schools. Findings included successful reductions of firewood consumption, emissions of carbon dioxide, improvements in air quality, and positive behavioral changes towards hygiene and sanitation, just to mention a few.
We had a pleasant surprise and had been honored to receive a certificate of appreciation from the Director of Education and Social Services Mrs. Juliet Namuddu Nambifor the technical support provided to such project. We are committed to continue with our join efforts in bringing cleaner cooking environments to all 79 KCCA supported schools.
With the Director of Education and Social Services Mrs. Juliet Namuddu Nambi and the Manager of Business Development and Research Mr. Edison Masereka
Appreciations Are Always Welcomed
We love to share letters of appreciation coming from schools that have been lucky beneficiaries of the institutional improved cook stoves (IICS). This time the Kampala Capital City Authority public school Kabowa Church of Uganda extended their gratitude for the donation from the French Government and the benefits perceived so far in their new kitchen. This is again another fantastic example of a school moving away from traditional 3-stone fires, now achieving firewood savings of up to USD 300 per term.
Mrs. Sarah Baziwe, school Headmistress in the new kitchen.
Our Biggest School
Kitebi Secondary School is located in Kampala district. With over 3,000 children, it is the school with the highest population that has so far been included under the Project Activity.
The kitchen has made an amazing transformation moving away from using traditional 3 stone fires for their cooking needs. Today the school saves over USD 1,000 per year on firewood purchases. This is an amazing saving for a public school. Such achievement would have not been possible without the enthusiasm and collaboration from the Head teacher Hajji and the Deputy Maureen.
The Consequences of Lack of Maintenance
Simoshi takes pride in promoting the maintenance activities performed on all institutional improved cook stoves (IICS) installed under its Project Activity. Every participating school enjoys free annual maintenance on every IICS.
Unfortunately, the maintenance habit is lacking in schools that made huge investments in the past by purchasing IICS for their kitchens. We continuously experience the disappointment from school officials that complain how the IICS deteriorate over time and the schools expenditure go back to unsustainable amounts of firewood consumed per term, just as they did before with their traditional stoves.
Moreover, when schools attempt to repair the IICS, the cost for doing so becomes too high to afford. To make things even worse, the prospect of having to confront such expenses every now and then, leaves school officials wondering if it is really worth it investing in the technology, considering the costs to be incurred in the future.
Simoshi tackles the maintenance problem by ensuring the IICS are continuously monitored and maintained at least once a year, ensuring the damages are contained and the maintenance costs are kept low before damages become too serious reaching the pricey core parts of the IICS. The cost for implementing the maintenance programme is supported through the benefits accrued from the sale of carbon credits.
An example of a primary school in MItyana experiencing huge firewood expenditures with their IICS due to lack of maintenance.
In Smaller Versions for Homes
Over the past two years Simoshi has changed and sustained the cooking habits in 40 schools in Uganda, through its registered Project Activity with the Clean Development Mechanism and The Gold Standard “Institutional Improved Cook Stoves for Schools and Institutions in Uganda”. The use of social innovation and new technologies implemented in schools through the use of an institutional improved cook stove (IICS) over time provides an added value, especially when addressing the younger generation. Children spend a large part of their time in school.
We aim to develop a marketing channel through the existing school audience, addressing the benefits of clean, efficient, affordable, high-quality and durable cooking solutions to build the perception, motivation and behavior for the children to transfer that knowledge back to their households, hence changing social behavior towards more efficient cooking practices by adopting an improved cook stove (ICS), in the same way this has been achieved in schools kitchens.
We are currently running a pilot project introducing the new Ugastove Dual Fuel ICS in some of our participating schools, learning from teachers and best ways on approaching parents, to ensure ICS are available to all.
St. Paul Buloba Primary School, last week, picking a lot of interest from the female teachers, but our only gentleman looking away :)
Dry Firewood Equally Important
Consuming dry firewood in an institutional improved cook stoves (IICS) is acrucial aspect when aiming at achieving the highest fuel savings. Firewood does not always contain the same amount of energy and the main reason is the water stored in it. Fresh firewood has a 50% water content when chopped from the tree and it can take several months to dry. After 12 months under appropriate drying conditions, the water content lowers to 15% and the energy values double!
That is why our Project Officers take a lot of time teaching schools how to best store firewood, and what to look for when engaging with suppliers. We have developed the "Firewood Best Practice Manual" and we are happy to see how schools have slowly incorporated the concepts and made amazing changes with storage. Here we share some pictures from the progress made at Namungoona Kigobe Primary School.
Another Amazing Kitchen Transformation
St. Paul Buloba is a small catholic public primary school located outside Kampala, in a beautiful rural set-up. When we first visited the school early 2016, they were cooking - like the majority of schools in Uganda - with 3-stone fires in the outside, under a simple shelter. When rain was strong, there was no food cooked for the day.
As we moved in working with the school with the institutional improved cook stoves (IICS), Margaret, the Head Teacher, made huge financial efforts to get a nice kitchen infrastructure up to accommodate the new IICS. Today, they are proud to show us around their new kitchen infrastructure, with shelves that store dry wood and a clean and healthy environment. It is an inspiration to see how this school has managed an incredible change with such small resources.
Quality Assurance and Control a Top Priority
At Simoshi, we take it very seriously when it comes to ensuring the highest product standards are delivered to our customers. Together with Ugastove (our improved cook stove manufacturer supplier) we have put processes in place during the different manufacturing stages to check on the quality of materials used, and standarised processes involved.
Improved cook stoves are also tested periodically at accredited laboratories for fuel efficiency and safety, while materials used for insulation (such as mica and clay) are tested at the Uganda Industrial Research Institute for allumina contents and quality levels of insulation.
Inspection time during a Quality Assurance and Quality Control session at Ugastove
Training of Stove Manufacturers
Simoshi follows strict quality procedures with the institutional improved cook stoves (IICS) it distributes. As such, it conducts periodic training to all of its suppliers of IICS, following the Quality Assurance and Quality Control Manual.
Today we were at Uganda Stove Manufacturing Limited (Ugastove) meeting with the team, each specialising in different activities (welding, assembling, cladding, insulation, operations) to make sure the standards for manufacturing, delivery and installation of the IICS are followed. Below we are sharing some pictures of this session.
We are now a registered Project Activity!
It is with great pleasure we would like to share the news that our Project Activity "Institutional Improved Cook Stoves for Schools and Institutions in Uganda" (10345) has been formally registered with the UNFCCC Clean Development Mechanism on the 7 February 2017.
Details of the project activity can be found here.
Such hard work and dedication was put into this project and would have never been possible with the help from many team members, technical experts, auditors and friends.
Follow us closely as we make progress with changing the traditional cooking practices of schools in Uganda!
Food Nutrition is an Urgent Matter
Every day is a learning experience at Simoshi, especially during our filed visits and time spent in schools talking to kitchen staff and Head Masters. To date, we have included 41 schools that have moved away from the traditional 3 stone fires to cooking with institutional improved stoves.
Loads of efforts have made such behavioral change possible, and team work with the school collaboration would have never been possible. Nevertheless, the transition is not over, and to sustain such change, continuous education and monitoring is implemented from Simoshi.
Some schools have been operating their institutional improved cook stoves for over one year. As we originally partnered with schools to change their traditional cooking habits, we realised that such approach focusing on the cooking appliance alone was limited and a look at the bigger picture was needed.
Looking at the bigger picture meant that taking such holistic approach included engaging the school in changing many habits and structures in the whole kitchen environment. The different dimensions and interventions include improving the quality of firewood delivered by suppliers, improving the kitchen hygiene and sanitation practices, improving the building structure, to introducing bio-fortified micro-nutrient dense staples and high iron content beans in school meals.
As we continue to include new schools under the programme, we realised that all provide the same maize (posho) and beans meals every day of the year. Furthermore, Head Masters claim that some of their pupils attend school hungry, the school meal being the only food they get during the day.
Food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition are complex problems. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, 214 million people are chronically hungry and child and infant malnutrition rates are among the highest in the world.
Last week we invited Harvest Plus (see picture below) to meet one of the participating schools to understand better what is currently being done in Uganda. We also had a meeting the following day with SNV Uganda, as we continue to explore further possible ways of improving food nutrition in our participating schools. We will keep you posted as we make progress in this worrying matter.
Covenant of Mayors visits Kyaggwe Primary School
Today we had visitors from the Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa project (funded by the Eropean Union), Expertise France, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, Sustainable Energy Africa, Enda Energie and the French Environment & Energy Management Agency, as Kampala is one out of the seven award winning cities.
Since February 2015, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has been working on the development of its low carbon and climate resilient development strategy which resulted in the Kampala Climate Change Action Plan.
Launched in October 2016, The Kampala Climate Change Action Plan presents a 6 thematic-wide action plan, including access to efficient and renewable energy in schools. In order to support the implementation of the action plan, the EU selected of Kampala to be part of the Covenant of Mayors in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The 3-year project will allow KCCA to set a governance framework for its Climate Change Strategy in terms of quality management systems on critical data to follow up on the implementation and monitoring, engagement of multi-scale stakeholders, city cooperation within the country, but also showcase concrete pilot actions such as integrated neighborhood model plans and green services platforms.
Today we at Simoshi have been proud to showcase the uptake of the energy efficiency cooking technology by KCCA Kyaggwe Primary School, moving away from the traditional 3-stone fire cooking practices.
Women's Day
Today we are proud to celebrate the international Women's Day as we continue advocating towards gender equality.
Clean cooking is key to achieving global development and climate goals. Switching to an improved cook stove can deliver progress across 10 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Today Simoshi is proud to be making a contribution towards closing the "Gender Equality" (goal 5) gap. Unpaid work, including collecting wood and cooking, remain a major cause of gender inequality.
February's Update
Apologies for a silent past month but we have been busy as classes resumed early February. As part of our monitoring protocol, we visited all participating schools and conducted a training assessment in the kitchens where the institutional improved cook stoves (IICS) are in operation.
This exercise is performed quarterly to ensure the "Kitchen Management Techniques" are followed and the best use of the IICS is achieved. At the same time, a reinforcement training session is conducted to refresh all lessons learned, collect feedback on the performance of the IICS, and perception of air quality by the kitchen staff.
