Mary Kavutha prepares breakfast using a fuel-efficient cookstove made by BURN in Kiambu, Kenya, on July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Allan Olingo)
\n\nWorkers assemble fuel-efficient cookstoves at BURN, a manufacturer of clean cooking appliances, in Kiambu, Kenya, on July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Allan Olingo)
\n\nNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Every morning, Mary Kavutha prepares breakfast for her two young children using an induction cooker in her Nairobi home. Two years ago, the businesswoman relied on a charcoal stove that filled her kitchen with smoke and cost about $1.15 in fuel each day.
\n\nToday, she says, for 80 cents in electricity tokens she can cook several meals.
\n\n“It cooks much faster, and is much safer because I have young children,” Kavutha said. “With charcoal there was always smoke in the house. Now I can cook indoors comfortably, and I spend much less.”
\n\nNearly 1 billion Africans still rely on charcoal or firewood for everyday cooking. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that household air pollution from these fuels contributes to about 850,000 deaths annually on the continent.
\n\nLike millions of other Africans, Kavutha switched not out of climate concerns but because the stoves are affordable since they are underwritten by carbon credit financing…
Original source: https://apnews.com/business