Laikipia, Kenya - Zeitz Foundation

Laikipia, Kenya
Wonderbag and Zeitz Foundation teamed up to demonstrate the Wonderbag to people from the Laikipia community. We started at
a popular local market with Sarah Collins (Wonderbag Founder) giving an introduction.
Patrick, the headmaster at the 1st Waterbank school in Kenya explained in the local language how the Wonderbag would make
their cooking fuel and water last longer, saving precious, hard-won resources.
We prepared Ugali (maize meal) which is a local staple, that traditionally requires 30 minutes on a fire with constant stirring.
Using a Wonderbag, one only needs to stir the ugali over the fire for 10 minutes, then seal the pot in the bag to finish cooking.
Skepticism turned to delight as the ugali came out of the Wonderbag perfectly cooked, and was shared with the children.
More women now came to see how it is possible to have hot food coming out of this Wonderbag.
Nancy sells rice, dried beans, maize and
other food staples at the market.
She saw the maize meal going into the
Wonderbag as a soft, hot porridge…
…and did not believe it
would continue cooking in
the Wonderbag, hardening
into the firm meal they call
ugali
She was amazed that ugali out of the Wonderbag is exactly like the ugali she would have had to stir continuously on the fire for
30 minutes!
Nancy is a believer. We traded the Wonderbag for a few kilos of
rice to use in our next demonstration.
Nancy now plans to add cooked rice to her selling activities. Rice
needs only 5 minutes to boil before sealing in the Wonderbag too
finish cooking (vs 40 minutes on a continuous
heat source).
A future Wonderbag entrepreneur in the making…
Nancy is already spreading the word…bringing more women over to
the demonstration to see how the Wonderbag could reduce the
amount of precious firewood they use for every meal
There was much ugali
and many insights shared
that day…
Children lined up to get a
portion of sukumu wiki
(local kale dish) from the
Wonderbag
From disbelief to smiles as they discover hot food being served
out of a cloth bag. Magic!
One little boy shared his ugali with some others…
…who then danced their way over to the demonstration to get a bit more!
We hope she grows up to
be another Wonderbag
entrepreneur.
But first, she needs to stay
in school.
We will pursue a program
with the waterbank school
that gives stars for school
attendance.
Based on the number of
stars, a child can earn a
Wonderbag for their family.
The Wonderbag will also be
incorporated into the
school: used for meals to
reduce energy and water
use; used in lessons to
teach children about
conservation.
After the market we demonstrated the Wonderbag to a women’s beading group
We will pursue a project where the women sew beads onto Wonderbags to be displayed and sold at the Segera cultural center
We demonstrated rice and ugali in the Wonderbag at the Segera Mission, which looks after children (many of who have been
orphaned by AIDS) and provides the only medical care within 50 sq miles.
The director filmed the
demonstration so that
they could educate more
people how to use a
Wonderbag to conserve
fuel and water, and
increase nutrition
They feed over 150
children per day.
We’ll make a large
Wonderbag to test with
this pot.
Seven women from surrounding communities spent a focused morning at the Zeitz Foundation office to provide a local perspective
around cooking and the relevance of the Wonderbag.
We demonstrated the Wonderbag technique at the start
of the session, set the bags aside to cook while we
conducted our discussion.*
2 hours later we enjoyed a hot Wonderbag lunch of rice,
ugali and a vegetable stew.
The women were very positive that
the Wonderbag is well-suited for the
local market, and will improve their
lives in terms of time and fuel.
In exchange for their time, we gave
them each a Wonderbag which they
will test at home, and represent to
their neighbors.
*Their insights into costs and time of cooking are on the following pages
Look at the following numbers as if you made
150 shillings per day income
150 Kenyan shillings =
1.77 USD
1.35 EUR
1.09 GBP
Charcoal costs 700 shillings for at
50kg bag that will last a family a
week. That’s 100 shillings per day
Paraffin costs 90 shillings
for 1 liter, which will last
a family 1 day
Wood sold at the market costs 50
shillings per stick, sold in bundles of
10 for 500 shillings. That will last
the family one week, a cost of
70 shillings per day
The taxi-bus to town to buy
paraffin is 300 shillings round trip
100 Kenyan shillings =
1.18 USD
.90 EUR
.73 GBP
LPG is currently inaccessible:
• The 2-burner stove costs 3,000 shillings
• The first canister of gas costs 10,000 shillings
• The refills are 4,000 shillings
Water is gathered in 20-liter jugs
Sometimes they can afford charcoal or
paraffin, but the most common fuel is
firewood they collect themselves
The most common
cooking method is a 3stone fire
Due to deforestation, the women must go
farther, spending anywhere from 2-3
hours per day foraging for wood…
…a wage opportunity cost of 27-40
shillings per day*
*based on 150 per day wage for 8 hours of work
Maize meal (for ugali) is 45
shilling per kg.
Dried maize cost 45 shilling per kg
Dried beans cost 80 shilling per kg
Many have large families – ranging from 6 to 10 people in the household (7-8 is a good average)
A 10-person household will go through 2kgs of maize meal per day, eating ugali at every meal. Cost per
meal = 30 shillings
Githeri is a dish that combines dried maize and dried beans. A one-kilo blend of maize and beans will
make 1 meal for 10 people. Cost per meal = 63 shillings
Conventional Cooking
Wonderbag Cooking
Ugali costs ½ of their daily wage
Ugali needs to cook for at least 30 min
Ugali requires constant stirring
Ugali still costs ½ of their daily wage
Ugali needs to cook for only 10 min, a
60% reduction in cooking time/fuel
Beans cost ½ of their daily wage
Beans need to cook for at least 3 hours
Beans require water to be added every
30-45 minutes
Beans cannot be left unattended
Beans require 3 hours of cooking fuel
Beans still cost ½ of their daily wage
Beans need to cook for 30 min
Beans require only the initial water
Beans can be left unattended after 30 min
Beans require 30 min of cooking fuel,
90% less than conventional method
Beans are nutritious
Making Cooking Efficient
A 60% reduction in firewood needs could
create 16 shillings per day in disposable
income via income-generating activities
16 shillings per day is 4,000 shillings per
year. That could buy 50 kgs of beans –
additional meal of beans each week.
Across 50,000 households in Laikipia, that
could be 2.5m kgs of beans.
The Cost of Time
These women find work in the fields and
odd jobs. They average 150 shillings per
day for an 8-hour work day.
That is 19 shillings per hour
They spend 2-3 hours a day collecting
firewood and water…usually after they
feed their children and send them off to
school
The Multiplier Effect
Increasing local productivity
Increasing nutritional content of meals
Stimulating the local economy
Preserving the ecosystem
100 Kenyan shillings =
1.18 USD
.90 EUR
.73 GBP
Insights from the Women’s Focus Group
Their Perceived Benefits: Time and Resources
A hot meal cooking safely in the bag at home while they were working
Minimizing the time they needed to stand over the fire – stirring and adding water
Decreasing the number of days they had to gather firewood and extending their water
Increasing the output of the food (no burning)
Their Feedback: Product and Cost
They would like a liner for the bag so that the insides would not get destroyed from the black soot of their pots
They would also like a baby Wonderbag to carry with them into the fields so that they could have a hot lunch
(cold ugali is not nice)
Sell the Wonderbag bundled with a pot
2,000 shillings for a WB is steep - like to see if can be cheaper, but they will pay for a bag if there was a way to
pay in installments. Will need to explore micro-financing and/or community pools (like stockvel). Might be
difficult to manage via M-PESA (mobile phone payment) in terms of collecting.
They would pay more if the price included a pot.
They would aspire to have more than one standard Wonderbag
Laikipia Pilot: 400,000 people
100% penetration: 50,000 Wonderbags
Objectives
Conservation: Decrease energy needs, protect trees and reduce water consumption
Community:
Empower women through social ventures and capacity building; empower the community to look after
their environment
Culture:
Introduce the Wonderbag in a way that supports local diets, customs and lifestyle; Reflect Kenyan culture
though global Wonderbag reach (recipes, fabrics, beading, etc.)
Commerce:
Create sustainable businesses for local entrepreneurs to produce, distribute and sell the Wonderbag
Expected Outcomes
Jobs: 100+
Capacity Building: Water and Energy Management, Production, Distribution, Promotion, Sales, Business Management
Disposable Income: Potential of 4,000 shillings per household (from increased work hours & decreased fuel costs)
Across 50K households: Potential of 200M shillings back into the local economy each year (that could buy 2.5M kgs of
nutritious beans)