The Kenya Ceramic Jiko, is a stove which uses charcoal as fuel. It has an hourglass shape, and it is made from a metal exterior, with a ceramic internal liner. The ceramic liner has holes in its base, which allows ash to fall through and be collected in the box located at thme bottom of the stove.
– Wikipedia
We had a closer look at the traditional way of cooking in Kenya and we learned a lot about the jiko. To get to know how people in Kenya are using it, we had a talk with Shabu.
Our questions:
- Where do they cook? Why do they cook inside?
- Is it known that the smoke is unhealthy?
- Do people have or build chimneys?
- What kind of fuel is used? Cooking at home/ cooking at the kiosk.
- Is slow cooking an alternative option to cook?
What we learnd:
- Either people cook with an open fire, a jiko, a kerosin stove, or a saw dust stove.
- People are cooking inside for privacy. They light up the stove outside and continue cooking inside.
- People are aware of the unhealthy emissions from cooking but they don’t have many other options to choose from.
- The jiko is one of the best options when cosidering money and health.
- Because the houses in the slums are not owned by the people that are living there, they don’t build chimneys.
- When cooking at home, mostly the jiko is used with charcoal or gas. In the kiosks, mainly the kerosin stove and the saw dust stove is used.
- Slow cooking is not successful because there is not enough time in their daily schedule.
- Fire outbreaks are caused by cooking accidents.