Consumer prices of cooking gas in Kenya are on the rise clocking over Kes400 jump for a 13-kilogramme cylinder as marketers reviewed their rates on account of higher global prices of the commodity and a tanking Kenya shilling against the dollar.

For the majority of urban dwellers, the cost of living is becoming expensive each and every day, and gas prices have increased by roughly 30 percent in recent months.

Which begs the question: how are gas customers adjusting to living under these conditions? Some have chosen to go back to the old jiko only to realize that charcoal prices are equally high, almost competing shilling for a shilling with gas prices.

The World Health Organization survey shows that about four million people die each year from illnesses caused by household air pollution from inefficient cooking practices.

According to the Dalberg consulting, Kenya loses 10.3 million cubic metres of wood from her forest cover every year due to firewood and charcoal fuel, which is a major contributor to the country’s steady rise in deforestation.

Overall, the use of charcoal is also faulted for worsening the lives of over 500,000 Africans every year as it emits carbon monoxide, a hazardous gas, and other harmful wastes.

The World Bank projects that the bulk of the annual $47 billion spent in sub-Saharan Africa on cooking fuel is on charcoal and wood, with just 18 percent of people using electricity, kerosene or liquefied petroleum gas.

For many Kenyans, City life is never short of options. There are various ways to work around the struggle for affordable fuel to prepare your meals, especially for families grappling with decreasing incomes and mounting expenses.

I live in a city estate where I have seen and experienced it all... stoves, coils, jikos and lately, Koko Gas. All these have their limitations but if you are shopping for a bargain in the prevailing lean times, I advise you to bet with Koko gas, a two-burner cook stove that uses bio-ethanol.

For me, KoKo cooker is way cheaper than the competition. It’s easier to work with and it is safe and secure. As a new customer, the Koko cooker kit price at Ksh1750 gets you four, Koko Canister refills. And this can last up to three long months in this city for a bachelor like me. A single canister refill costs roughly Kes200 and lasts about two weeks in use.

KOKO Networks is a startup that is targeting sub-Saharan Africa’s $47 billion cooking-fuel market with bioethanol cookers.

If you stay alone, you can use these four canisters to fill up enough for nearly four months. Imagine how many times you would have refilled your ordinary gas cylinder by then.

For families who need to feed many mouths, I advise you either get two of these because it’s still going to be cheaper compared to contacting your local gas plug every so often. When you walk around Koko cooker refill stations, you will find students, bachelors, and spinsters lining up to have their canisters refilled.

On average, Koko’s platform for low-cost delivery of ethanol cooking fuel reaches 1.5 million Kenyans every day. Across Africa, the company targets the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Zambia, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique in its expansion drive.

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