Context

The Government of Tanzania has made transitioning to clean cooking a top policy priority, emphasising the need to reduce reliance on traditional fuels like firewood and charcoal as less than 8% of the estimated 62 million people use clean cooking energy. In line with this directive, the Minister of State in the Vice President’s Office (Union and Environment), Hon. Dr Selemani Jafo, instructed institutions serving over 100 people shift to cleaner cooking solutions by 2024 and those serving over 200 people by 2025. Through support from the CookFund programme, Hanny G spearheaded a project introducing briquettes as a sustainable cooking alternative at the University of Dodoma (UDOM). This case study delves into UDOM's successful transition to briquettes, showcasing the impact of this initiative.

Hanny G is a dynamic grantee of the programme, supplying briquettes and improved charcoal cookstoves. The organisation supports several institutions in the programmes’ intervention regions in addition to UDOM, including Morogoro Teachers College, which serves over 1000 people, and Bihawana Secondary School, which serves over 900 people.

Challenges in supplying clean cooking solutions to institutions.

Barriers of entry

Companies and enterprises aiming to provide clean cooking solutions to institutions require a large amount of capital to manage the large size of institutions, faced with high entry costs and economies of scale. Hanny G initially faced challenges with the costs involved to scale his business in line with the demand. The company recorded business development budgets of up to 500 USD per institution, including end-user training.

Lack of institutional and decision makers awareness

Large institutions often have well-established governance structures and complex approval processes involving numerous stakeholders. Hanny G reported spending over 6 times the monthly briquette sales of one cafeteria to educate UDOM representatives on the characteristics and benefits of briquettes and improved charcoal cookstoves.

The institutional impact of transitioning

Catalytic growth: Through the monetary support offered by the grant, companies can scale up their offering and meet the demands of large institutions, making them competitive and accelerate the use of clean cooking solutions. Since partnering with the programme, Hanny G’s sales have increased from 400-450 tonnes to over 500-600 tonnes per month.

Strengthened supply chain and resource management: The programme's monitoring and evaluation modalities enforce accountability, leading to better planning and contingencies. This framework helps institutions mitigate unforeseen events. At UDOM, the 9 cafeterias using briquettes supplied by Hanny G were unaffected by seasonal changes, resulting in no revenue loss with the changing weather conditions.

Human capital empowerment: Institutions can empower their personnel and comply with high global standards for health and wellness. UDOM cooking staff can work approximately 3 hours less, providing time to pursue additional income-generating activities.

Multiplier effect: Changes implemented at the institutional level have the potential to ripple outwards, influencing wider societal behaviours and attitudes. Since their entrance into programme regions such as Morogoro and Dodoma, where they supply large institutions, Hanny G now supplies over 300 schools across Tanzania including in rural areas.

Sustainability efforts – required and available

The CookFund is supporting sustainability efforts by enabling the subsidization of prices for clean cooking technologies and the deployment of diverse marketing and sales strategies. For example, because of the programme support, Hanny G can offer stove rentals to institutions to encourage adoption. However, challenges persist, including the need for greater awareness, collaboration with the public sector, and knowledge sharing. Overcoming these challenges is crucial for sustained use of clean cooking solutions in institutions and promoting a cleaner and healthier cooking environment to attain the nation’s sustainable development outcomes.