Kenya’s schools are in critical need of a clean energy revolution. Some 90 percent of schools in the country still rely on firewood and charcoal as their primary cooking fuel. Statistics from the Ministry of Energy and the Clean Cooking Alliance reveal that this widespread dependency contributes to the cutting down of more than 10 million trees every year, much of it directly linked to school kitchens. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization estimates that indoor air pollution from solid fuels is responsible for over 23,000 premature deaths annually in Kenya, many of which occur among kitchen staff exposed to constant smoke.
In most Kenyan schools, kitchen staff are exposed to constant smoke.
Gloomy statistics
This crisis is not only environmental and health-related. It’s economic. Schools spend up to 30 percent of their annual operational budgets on cooking fuel, often with fluctuating firewood prices and unreliable supply chains. And despite government attempts to introduce LPG as an alternative, Miale Solar’s random survey across some schools in coastal and western Kenya reveal that school either revert, or are likely to revert, to firewood due to prohibitively high refilling costs and safety concerns.
Schools are likely to revert to firewood due to high gas refilling costs and safety concerns.
Such forbidding statistics formed the backdrop of the recently concluded 48th Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) Conference, where over 7,000 school principals gathered to address the urgent need for sustainable energy solutions among other issues. Among the innovators answering the call was Miale Solar, a pioneering solar engineering firm already transforming kitchens in schools across Kenya with clean, affordable, and health-friendly cooking systems. At the conference, Miale Solar emerged not just as a participant, but as a pioneer in clean cooking in Kenyan schools.
At KESSHA, Miale Solar emerged as a pioneer in clean cooking in Kenyan schools
For Miale Solar, clean cooking using solar energy is not a vision for the future.It is a growing movement, powered by research, engineered with precision, and aligned with the Competency-Based Education (CBE) framework that positions sustainability, innovation, and real-world problem solving at the core of Kenya’s education system.
The Truth in the Smoke
It’s one thing to speak about sustainability from a conference podium, and quite another to step into a school kitchen engulfed in smoke. That’s exactly what Miale Solar has done across counties. One such visit took the team to Bishop Linus Okok Girls and in Oyugis, where the kitchen staff gave disturbing accounts of daily exposure to thick, suffocating smoke from firewood stoves.
Kitchen gave accounts of daily exposure to suffocating smoke from firewood stoves.
“We can barely breathe in the kitchen. The smoke also irritates eyes. We’re glad Miale is bringing solar cooking to our school,” lamented a staff member during the site visit.
This is not an isolated incident.
Across dozens of schools in Homa Bay, Oyugis, Mbita, Kisii, Mombasa and Kwale, Miale Solar has encountered similar scenes. Blackened walls, teary-eyed cooks, and a silent crisis that’s been normalized for too long.
Most schools in Nyanza are transitioning toward cleaner, cost-effective, and healthier energy sources
The excessive reliance on firewood not only endangers health but also drives up costs and accelerates deforestation. according to Erick Naivasha, KCB’s Head of Sustainability, Kenyan schools are responsible for the cutting down of over millions of trees annually, an environmental and economic tragedy.
“We must act decisively to transition schools toward cleaner, cost-effective, and healthier energy sources. It is not only a sustainability issue; it’s a matter of health, cost efficiency, and climate responsibility,” Naivasha said.
In partnership with Miale Solar and Mwalimu Express, the Bank is spearheading a clean energy transition in schools across the country.
Miale Solar, Mwalimu Express, and KCB are spearheading a clean energy transition in schools across the country
Innovation Based on Research
What sets Miale Solar apart is not just its technology. It’s the why behind it.
Miale’s clean cooking systems are the product of intensive on-ground research and engineering ingenuity, developed with the unique needs of schools in mind. From pressurized to non-pressurized solar cooking pots that drastically reduce firewood consumption, Miale has emerged as the go-to partner for schools seeking long-term energy solutions.
Miale has emerged as the go-to partner for schools seeking long-term energy solutions.
And as schools shift toward the CBE curriculum, which emphasizes sustainability and applied learning, Miale’s work becomes even more relevant.
“Our solutions do more than cook. They teach,” says Stephen Adwong’a, CEO at Miale, highlighting how Miale’s systems are integrated with STEM and environmental education, allowing students to understand real-world applications of clean energy.
Cost versus Reality of LPG
Despite government initiatives to promote LPG in public schools, adoption has been dismal. According to The Nation, the government’s resolution to endorse the use of LPG in public schools is a creditable “step forward; however, it remains unaffordable.”
“The reality on the ground is that LPG is expensive. Schools can’t sustain it,” said one principal during the KESSHA conference. “We start with it, but we always end up back to firewood.”
Cost dilemma has left schools juggling between unaffordable gas and scarce firewood
This cost dilemma leaves schools juggling between unaffordable gas and increasingly scarce firewood. In this energy gap, Miale Solar has planted a practical solution that reduces costs, improves health, and is scalable.
Research from Clean Cooking Alliance (2024) shows that schools that adopt clean cooking technologies see up to 40 percent savings on cooking fuel costs, while significantly reducing indoor air pollution, which contributes to chronic respiratory illness among kitchen staff.
Miale Fueling the Movement, KCB Financing the Future
Miale’s strategic partnership with Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and Mwalimu Express is another game-changer.
At KESSHA, Mr. Naivasha made it clear: “We must act decisively to transition schools toward cleaner, cost-effective, and healthier energy sources. It is not only a sustainability issue; it’s a matter of health, cost efficiency, and climate responsibility.”
Through its Clean Energy in Schools Initiative, KCB is promoting solar power, biogas, and clean cooking alongside Miale Solar’s innovations. The bank is not just financing, it’s mobilizing a movement.
“KCB has supported over 5,000 students through sponsorship programmes, but more than that, we’re working to create sustainable learning environments,” Naivasha noted.
This partnership will allow schools to access affordable financing for clean energy systems, solving one of the biggest barriers to adoption, which is upfront cost.
The partnership will allow schools to access affordable financing for clean energy systems
The Growth of Interest
The KESSHA conference, which brought together over 7,000 principals and 1,000 education stakeholders, marked a turning point.
For the first time, clean cooking took center stage not just as a health or cost issue, but as a cornerstone of education reform under CBE. Principals from across the country spoke of the need to align sustainability with school operations, to prepare students not only for exams, but for the future.
Clean cooking has taken a center stage as a health and cost issue, and as education reform under CBE
And in the midst of this national discourse, Miale Solar stood tall with evidence, experience, and engineering.
As Kenya accelerates its transition to green energy in education, Miale Solar is miles ahead in the race. Not just because of its technology, but because of its vision, resolution, and commitment to solving real problems with real solutions.
Therefore
Miale Solar invites schools, county governments, and education stakeholders to be part of the clean energy transformation. Together with KCB and Mwalimu Express, the dream of clean cooking in every school kitchen is within reach.