Our Work
In our first 10 years Kilns grew to work with 8 women-led partner groups, supporting over 15 projects to scale energy-efficient stove liner production. See our project summary report for details.
Our work directly impacts over 250 group members and farmers, increasing their annual incomes by 10-16%. Indirectly we have impacted over 2000 people in the communities that we work in.
One of our goals is economic and social empowerment of rural women. We are proud that a number of our women-led groups have risen to become Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in energy-efficient clay-stove liner making at the national level in Kenya. Their women leaders are tapped by other groups and NGOs for Kenya-wide trainings and business practice sharing.
We also closely partner with ECO2LIBRIUM (ECO2), a globally recognized Certified B Corporation that focuses on renewable energy and forest conservation. ECO2 sources the energy-efficient stove liners from the groups that we support, further enabling at-scale liner production.
The launch of our Beekeeping project in 2025 is part of our project diversification. It reinforces our focus on forest conservation as we help farmers establish apiaries around Kakamega Forest that will act as live "bee-fences', deterring illegal loggers and poachers.
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 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 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 partnership began in 2014 with support for a new kiln construction located close to their workshop. From 2016 to 2018 Kilns 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 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. 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.
Project Impact Examples
Gallery
Thank You for Your 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.