In Kenya's Olchoro Oirouwa Conservancy, Maasai communities live close to nature and far from the electric grid. Daily energy needs have historically been met by burning charcoal, wood, and kerosene, which can be harmful to human health and to the environment. That is beginning to change through a community-led initiative supported by the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF). The effort introduces solar-powered cooking, as well as household lighting, device charging, and new clean water access points.
The United Nations identifies clean cooking as both a climate and a development priority, with approximately 2.1 billion people lacking access to safe, affordable, and low-carbon cooking solutions. The consequences are significant. Indoor air pollution from burning traditional fuels such as wood is responsible for an estimated 3.2 million premature deaths per year. Collecting these fuels can be time consuming and expensive, and in the Olchoro Oirouwa Conservancy, comes with added challenges.
"In our area, it's so risky, seeing as there are animals around us. It's dangerous to go looking for firewood," says Ann Karia, 15. Karia describes close encounters with wild elephants and buffaloes just outside her village of Kileleoni. Kileleoni is situated within the conservancy and is part of the greater Maasai Mara a region famed for its megafauna.
Through an initial pilot project, Karia's household is one of seven to receive a solar-electric cookstove, also known as an e-cooker, which uses sunlight to power cooking without fuel or open flames. The pilot also supplied three cookstoves to the ranger station at a local rhino sanctuary.
"It helps us by conserving the environment and saving time," says James Kipera, 23. Kipera works as a chef at the rhino sanctuary. The sanctuary provides habitat for injured rhinos and is an important employer for local Maasai people.
In addition to cooking food, the stoves come equipped with three solar-powered lamps to enable nighttime lighting and two charging ports for phones and other devices. For Karia, Kipera, and other pilot participants, this is their first taste of electricity.
The pilot is designed to assess how well the cookstoves meet local cooking and energy needs. The results of the pilot will inform the wider deployment of clean cooking solutions in the Olchoro Oirouwa Conservancy.
The cookstove initiative is one part of a phased plan to implement additional solar infrastructure in the conservancy. Three solar-powered water systems are currently being constructed, which will provide clean water to community members, their livestock, and the rhinos at the sanctuary. Climate change has intensified local water scarcity. The systems will provide relief, improve resilience, and further reduce the need to trek into dangerous wildlife zones.
A Community-Based Organization has been established to facilitate local engagement and set priorities for the expansion of solar power. Per conservancy rules, all infrastructure needs to be designed thoughtfully, with the landscape and wildlife in mind.
"Any infrastructure in the Maasai Mara has to work for both people and the surrounding ecosystem," says Robert Freling, SELF's executive director. "Through smart technology, careful design, and deep partnership, we can meet pressing human needs without compromising conservation goals."
About the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF)
The Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that uses solar energy to fight poverty and climate change. Since its founding in 1990, SELF has worked in dozens of countries, bringing clean energy where it's needed most. Whether powering schools in South Africa, or health clinics in Haiti, SELF uses the power of the sun to drive lasting change. Learn more at: www.self.org.
