KILNS CBO
Our Work
In our first 10 years Kilns CBO grew to work with 8 women-led partner groups, supporting over 16 projects. We have increased the variety of projects we support. See our 10 year project summary report for details.
We are working to onboard new community partners, enable bee keeping initiatives and installation of clean energy water pumps and grain mills to further expand our project and partner portfolio as we grow.
Highlights of some of our completed partner projects are below.
Tahwid Producer Group
Tahwid Producer Group was started by women in 2016 to help to improve the living standards of group members, to educate the community about energy conservation and to link with other groups working in energy conservation. Group activities focus on producing, selling and installing stove liners, doing table banking, farming and poultry production. Their Kilns CBO partnership started in 2023 with support for a project to build a new shed, a bigger and better kiln to replace the old degraded kiln and to get two new mould sets. The project enabled the group to increase stove liner production from 300 to 500 liners per month, to centralize liner production and to increase their income by approximately $340 per month.
Ichingo Group
Ichingo Women Group was established in 1992 to improve the livelihoods of their community, educate on forest conservation and to build savings for future group activities. Their Kilns CBO partnership started in 2016 with a project to build a new storage facility for stove liners. They received additional support in 2021 for a project to build a new kiln and a shed. These projects helped the group to increase stove liner production from 500 to 1000 liners per month. It also centralized their production and working site, making it easier and more efficient for the group to perform their activities.
Mukhonje Valongi Group
Mukhonje Valongi Group was established in 1998 to educate the community on the importance of energy efficient stoves and to generate more income to improve the living standard of the community living around Kakamega Forest. The Kilns CBO partnership began in 2014 with support for a new kiln construction located close to their workshop. From 2016 to 2018 Kilns CBO supported construction to upgrade their workshop and storage area to accommodate 2000 stove liners. In 2023 a bore hole project was also successfully completed. By locating the new kiln close to the upgraded workshop the project enabled the group to save on transportation costs and decreased their inventory loss through breakage in transit. The group now also has reliable access to water for their activities, for farming and their livestock especially during the dry season.
Machina Pottery Group
Machina Pottery Group was established in 1997 to empower members economically and socially through introduction of income generating activities, to improve pottery making and farming skills and to help members build computer literacy. The Kilns CBO partnership began in 2014 with support for a workshop construction project. In 2022 a rain water tank installation project was successfully completed with support from Kilns CBO. The projects have provided increased exposure for the group, with members visiting and knowledge sharing about stove liner production with other groups involved in sustainable efforts. The stored rain water is being used by 80% of the families living in the Machina area especially in the dry season for farming, livestock, cooking and pottery production.
Gallery
Thank You for Your Continued Support
Kilns Fund collects all donations for our work. 90% of all donations go directly towards the community projects. Our fiscal sponsor, Visions Made Viable, runs the donations site and provides documentation for charitable tax deduction purposes. Click 'Donate' to support the Kilns Fund through the Visions Made Viable site.