Joyce Wanjiru

Secretary, Mwinyiha Women’s Group

Our group’s name means ‘from the chairlady to the last member we’re all equal’.
We’re business women, running kiosks or working as tailors. Our businesses don’t make much profit and our families live on about Ls 50 a day.
We’ve not enough spare money to make large purchases, so we started a savings and credit scheme. Each month we all save Ks 20, and once a month a member can take a loan of Ks 200. We pay interest, but it’s cheaper than elsewhere. The loans are used for household goods, such as sufurias (cooking pans) costing Ks 60.
As well as our loan scheme, we also run literacy training. Mrs Kenya, from ActionAid, trained us in accounts. Now she’s teaching us about ‘fire-less cookers’.
The fire-less cookers are made from insulated boxes or baskets. Once the sufuria is boiling you take it off the jiko (stove) cover it with a plastic sheet and place it in the cooker. The food’s left for 30 minutes, and after that it’s cooked. I’ve found the money I sped on fuel has dropped from Ks 49 to Ks 21 a week.
The cooker’s also useful as I can leave food in it to keep warm while I’m working in my kiosk. Then my children can come home to find their food ready, without me worrying that they’re going to burn themselves.

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