Jackbed Mugo, an engineer and mother of two adorable children, owns a small shop selling household goods in Bura, Tana River, Kenya. As a trained engineer, Jackbed holds a keen interest in technology, how things work, and solving problems.
Her passion for clean energy has led to her work with many organizations in the sector, including the County Government of Tana River.
In November 2023, Jackbed joined Solar Sister Kenya as an entrepreneur and opened up her shop. Her plans for opening the shop were threefold: bringing clean, affordable energy to her community, empowering women, and spending more time with her children as they grow up.
We visited Jackbed in her shop a few months ago:
Every day, I have an opportunity to learn more about clean energy and become a champion in its use. I started with some locally made cookstoves, but with time, I realized that clean cookstoves have evolved. Now, there are more modern, more effective cookstoves in the clean energy sector that not only help households save money on energy use at their homes but are also more effective in environmental care and conservation. These are the cookstoves that Solar Sister provides to its entrepreneurs.
I call myself a renewable energy champion. Clean, modern cookstoves have helped the public trust Solar Sister products, as they are way better than the locally available ones.
In addition, I have gathered from the end user feedback that they appreciate the ‘l’essos/kangas’ (decorative Kenya cloth or wraps) that BioLite puts in their products as an extra incentive.”
“My passion for the clean energy business has seen me diversify my business to include charcoal briquettes that aim to reduce the use of wood and charcoal, thus conserving our trees.
I work hard to get orders for clean cookstoves, fireless cookers, and electric pressure cookers while creating awareness of the need to conserve our environment. This way, I can make sales profits and champion our environmental conservation. ”
Most of the cooking here in Tana River is done with wood, charcoal and the local improved ‘jikos’ (cookstoves), which are a bit pocket-friendly (cheap), but use a lot of charcoal since they are inefficient.
As a clean energy champion, I teach my customers the efficient use of charcoal. I share with my customers and others how they can save money using clean cookstoves and the health benefits of using them. This way, the community saves on hospital and medical bills related to unclean cooking. This money is channeled to other uses, thus promoting their livelihoods.”
“My next plan is to produce and sell charcoal briquettes to the community here and beyond to light their cookstoves since even these are cheaper and safer to use. I look forward to a safer world whereby we all embrace clean cooking energy.”
No wonder she calls herself a Champion in the Clean Energy Business!