The County Government of Nandi is working with a Singaporean Organisation to develop energy saving cooking technology to save trees heavily used as a source of energy among the residents.
According to Nandi County Deputy Governor Dr. Yulita Mitei, the new Jiko cooking technology is expected to drastically reduce the use of wood as a source of energy.
Dr. Mitei said the new Jiko cooking technology is in line with President William Ruto’s program subsidizing Liquefied Petroleum Gas as a strategy of finding solutions away from heavy consumption of trees as a source of cooking energy.
She promised that the County Government of Nandi is working on drastically reducing the use of trees as the main source of cooking, while finding the most convenient and affordable alternative source of energy.
The deputy Governor expressed confidence that thousands of trees will be saved yearly if the Nandi-Singapore deal succeeds.
“Our Governor has already signed a deal with a Singaporean Organisation on developing most energy saving Jikos,” Mitei revealed.
She admitted that the use of charcoal and firewood as the main source of energy is negatively impacting the environment in North Rift Kenya and that it needed immediate redress.
“We are going to ensure that every household in Nandi County adopts the proposed new energy saving Jikos to reduce the unprecedented number of trees being consumed yearly,” said Dr. Mitei during a press briefing at Kaiboi Technical Training Institute while celebrating World Environment Day.
The most recent unpredictable weather patterns, she said has contributed to poor rains, hence insufficient food production in the region.
Mitei emphasized that there was a need for an aggressive tree planting campaign across North Rift Kenya, while emphasizing energy saving cooking technology which doesn’t heavily depend on wood.
The Deputy Governor revealed that Nandi County was keen to mitigate the effects of climate change by promoting sustainable local methods for instance planting of indigenous trees, protecting riparian lands and adopting friendly energy solutions.
She pleaded with the leaders in the region to continue promoting planting of trees and advocating for sustainable energy cooking solutions.
A total of 1.2 million trees have been planted in Nandi County since President Ruto launched the national tree planting campaign last according to Nandi Deputy Governor.
While launching 10,000 tree nursery beds, Kaiboi TTI Principal Getrude Sawe said they needed to triple the tree population at the institute in a few years to come.
Sawe however promised to sell tree seedlings to the community, schools and surrounding public institutions at affordable prices.
She admitted that people and institutions were not planting trees because they are expensive and as a college they were ready to offer a solution.
Mosop Member of Parliament Abraham Kirwa said he was focused on keeping Nandi County green and he has launched programs to ensure planting of trees becomes a continuous initiative to achieve the President’s target of 15 billion trees nationally.
In the function organized by the National Environment Management Authority, Kenya Forest Service and Nandi County Government, over 2000 trees were planted to mark the occasion.
By Geoffrey Satia
