In Ghana cookstoves are used on a large scale. In Ghana 22 million people rely on solid fuels for cooking. The consumers can be divided in two segments: urban cookstove users and rural cookstove users (Ghana Country Action Plan for Clean Cooking, 2013). The Kenkey makers in the Ejisu-Juaben District belong to the group of rural cookstove users. More than 95% of rural Ghanaians are reliant on solid fuels for cooking. In regions were incomes are generally lower and fuel is unaffordable, which is the case in the Ejisu-Juaben District, people use wood as fuel. Wood is very cheap or people can even collect it for free. Significant amounts of time is spent collecting fuel wood in increasingly degraded forests. The Ejisu-Juaben District is one of the areas in Ghana where massive deforestation takes place and so forests are gradually changing into savannas (Ministry of Food and Agriculture Ghana, 2015). Furthermore another great amount of time is spent on the cooking process, because of the inefficiency of the cookstoves. This has a major impact on the local livelihood of the cookstove users, because time could be better spent on income generation, education or other activities (Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, 2015). Time saved through efficient cookstoves would bring more freedom and opportunities to women and children (Ghana Country Action Plan for Clean Cooking, 2013). Replacing traditional cookstoves with an improved version can save households time and money (Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, 2015). It also contributes to local economic empowerment, because the clean cookstoves and fuel value chain offer new pathways. Local entrepreneurs can participate in the clean cooking value chain, earning income from product design, engineering, manufacturing, marketing, distribution and sales of clean cookstoves and fuels. Women are also very important for catalysing the market as clean energy entrepreneurs. Women’s networks can open doors for clean energy technology businesses and provide access to consumers in markets that are difficult to reach. These women probably can better understand the needs of other women and for them it is easier to approach their clients and create awareness of the dangers of traditional cookstoves or open fires.
However, at the moment there are very few improved cookstoves in the market that cater the needs of rural populations (Ghana Country Action Plan for Clean Cooking, 2013). KITA could fill this gap.