For Chikondi, the arrival of an eCook stove changed the rhythm of her home and the quality of her life.
Chikondi Mpagaja used to begin her day in the dark.
"I would wake up around 3am to start cooking," Chikondi says.
Sometimes, she had charcoal for her stove at home but it was often slow or impossible to light. Other days, she’d go to sleep knowing there was none left. “The next day, I'd have to wait until it was light and the charcoal sellers were awake to buy more. It was very tough,” she says.
In Area 49 of Malawi’s Lilongwe district, stocks could be unreliable.
“I remember one day I woke up to buy charcoal but couldn't find any,” she recalls. She was forced to take drastic measures. “I ended up removing some wood from my chicken coop to start a fire to heat bath water for my children. I searched for plastic bottles and an old maize sack to use to cook breakfast. I struggled a lot that day.”
Then her face brightens. ”But once I got the stove, I've never used firewood or a maize sack to cook again.”
For Chikondi, the arrival of an eCook stove changed the rhythm of her home and the quality of her life.
"Now I wake up at 6am and cook good food for my children," she explains. The speed of the induction cooktop has improved mornings for all. "By the time they finish bathing, the breakfast is ready."
Clean cooking has also relieved Chikondi of an enormous physical and emotional toll. She stressed about her family’s constant exposure to toxic smoke and the danger posed by hot coals. "I used to worry my children might faint or suffocate from the fumes," she recalls, noting the contrast. “My children’s health has improved. I'm sure my health will recover too, since the stove doesn't produce smoke that makes you cough while cooking.”
This transition has also brought a newfound sense of control over household finances. Every time Chikondi cooks, the stove measures usage down to the second and 100% of that data is turned into carbon credits. Most of the sale proceeds are returned to her as cash via ATEC’s Cook to Earn program “The mobile application helps me track and check my electricity consumption every day,” she explains. While saving money, she’s also fighting climate change. “Carbon dioxide destroys the ozone layer. When I cook using this stove, I'm also preserving nature because I'm no longer using charcoal or firewood.”
More than 2 billion people worldwide still cook daily with polluting fuels. Chikondi hopes other lives will be transformed like hers.
“I have proper time to rest. The food tastes good, and the pots are cleaner now. So, the stove has helped me a lot.”
