Mwanza Women Revolutionize Cooking Through Innovative Savings Groups
Women in Mwanza are transforming their economic and health landscape by forming rotating savings groups to purchase efficient clean cooking stoves, addressing long-standing challenges with traditional cooking methods.
Small-scale entrepreneurs, including food vendors and fish fryers, have traditionally relied on firewood and charcoal, which pose significant health and financial risks. These cooking methods damage respiratory systems, cause eye irritation, and require substantial daily fuel expenditures.
Local women are now leveraging collective savings strategies, known as “upatu”, to overcome the high initial costs of electric and gas stoves. Through these collaborative efforts, members contribute weekly or monthly, enabling each group member to acquire a clean energy cooking appliance.
Salome Bahati, a food vendor, highlights the economic benefits: “With an electric stove, you can cook everything within an hour, unlike charcoal, which takes longer and costs significantly more.” She notes that an electric stove costing approximately 120,000 Tanzanian shillings becomes achievable through collective savings.
The health implications are equally compelling. Fish sellers like Rozy Nyembo previously consumed up to 10 liters of water daily to combat heat and smoke-related discomfort. Smoke-related issues include persistent eye pain and respiratory challenges.
Local community leaders emphasize the broader impact. Khalid Masesa, a market chairman, reports that firewood has caused multiple market fires and creates substantial health risks for entrepreneurs.
The national clean energy campaign aims to transition 80% of Tanzanians to clean cooking technologies by 2034, currently standing at just 20% adoption. Researchers demonstrate that improved stoves can reduce daily cooking expenses from 10,000-15,000 shillings to merely 200-700 shillings.
This grassroots movement represents a powerful example of community-driven sustainable development, showcasing how collective action can address critical economic and health challenges.
