Residents turn to ethanol cook stove as cost of living bites
Koko gas cooker.
Koko gas, a cooker using degraded Bio-ethanol fuel has been gaining popularity among Nakuru locals.
The Koko cooker costs Sh 1,550. However, the best part is that users of Koko gas can purchase the fuel from as low as Sh 25 and get a 2.3-liter canister refill for Sh 179.
Mtaa Wangu got to interact with an agent who runs a Koko refill station at Bismark.
Elly Mureithi a shopkeeper at Bismark refills the ethanol at his shop.
Elly Mureithi a shopkeeper at Bismark notes that he chose to bring the Koko cooker to his shop because his sales of Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) had gone low.
“I started off as a user of the Koko gas and eventually decided to become an agent selling the product and refilling the Bioethanol used in the cooker. This jiko is a safe alternative to the LPG because it is also efficient and fast,” Mr Mureithi states.
He adds that having a refill machine for the ethanol fuel has promoted his income as an agent.
We meet Milton Mayo who is here to refill his canister. He notes that the Koko jiko is affordable to him.
Milton Mayo demonstrates how Koko gas works at his home in Bismark.
“When I’m low on cash, I can get a refill from Sh 30 and prepare a meal for my family. A full canister which goes for Sh 179 can last a week. In a month, I use an average of Sh 800. I at times complement this with a charcoal jiko when preparing meals that would take long to cook like githeri,” says Mr Mayo.
According to Mayo, other than the affordability of the cooker, the jiko uses clean energy which is something he considers good for the health of his family.
Once you purchase the cooker, one gets an account number that will then be used to purchase the fuel once the need to refill the jiko arises.
To purchase the fuel, one deposits money through M-Pesa to the aforementioned account, before proceeding to getting a refill.
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