Take a close look at this photo. What do you see? These women know what they are looking for -- the amount of smoke that each stove is producing. The green stove on the left is a Zawadisha clean cook stove, and the large stove on the right is a traditional stove. Which one would you want inside of your home to cook three meals a day?
This demonstration is part of our Training of the Trainers initiative that we launched this year. Working with our Community Coordinators, we are identifying and hiring highly-motivated women with a knack for leadership. Every month they will come together to learn about a new skill or topic. These workshops equip our Trainers with new skills and information on topics such as saving, investing, and micro-enterprise development. Our Trainers then will return to their communities and teach other women what they have learned. Our goal is to develop an all-female rural workforce of Trainers who will reach approximately 1,000 women a year.
We realize that when you live in poverty, you are less likely to take risks. And spending a few month's salary on a new stove is as risky as it gets. What if it doesn’t boil your water quickly or cook your ugali well? Trainings like this—paired with information on the cost and health benefits of transitioning to a clean cook stove—help women make more informed decisions for their families. Armed with new knowledge, they are able to make the change in their homes required for their families to live more productive, healthy, and happy lives.