Esperanza stove ‘super user’

It is always fantastic to hear the positive impact our stove project is having on the beneficiaries.

Sellina Banda is a 36-year-old mother of 4 and has her own small-scale business - buying and selling eggs. She is somebody who we would refer to as a ‘super user’ of the Esperanza stove and she speaks freely about its benefits. The following are some of the benefits according to her:

“The stove cooks faster than mafuwa and uses less firewood. For example, firewood worth MK1,100 used to last one week on mafuwa. The same amount of firewood will last about three weeks on the new esperanza stove. I am saving on firewood and I have channelled the savings towards my egg business thereby increasing the capital. We have hygienically clean food on the stove because, unlike on mafuwa, as ashes do not fly around the kitchen. The fire on mafuwa is uncontrolled and flies in all directions due to the wind therefore the food does not cook properly. Sometimes you would think the food is ready when it had not properly cooked on the inside. On the other hand, the fire on this new stove is smart and the food cooks properly and nicely”

“I have been saved from regular headaches, coughs and sneezing caused by smoke and flying ashes on mafuwa. My children have also been saved from accidents because the flames on the stove are enclosed. Smaller children cannot even reach the pot because the way the stove is built, the pot is somewhat enclosed and cannot tip over. On mafuwa, the flames are not enclosed and children can get burnt easily”.