Our volunteering projects offer people the chance to get involved in daily life in a rural Kenyan community. Unlike many other volunteering schemes, our two to three week placements give you an opportunity to work on more than one project. In a series of short blogs, we describe just some of the work you could be supporting here in Kenya.

Constructing stoves for safer homes

Building something as simple as a smokeless stove can make a big difference to the daily lives of families in rural Kenya. Traditionally, households cook over an open three stone fire and as well as the increased risk of burns, it can also cause respiratory illness.

Friends of Londiani has developed a smokeless stove programme with the community that aims to provide a smokeless alternative to cooking over open fires by installing a stove with a chimney.

The smokeless stove is constructed using locally available materials – bricks made from local clay and a chimney made from metal.

As a volunteer on Harambee you will work with the stove installers to construct stoves in local houses. One stove can be installed in half a day and you will see the immediate difference it makes. The new stove uses half as much timber, saving time and money for the household as well as being much safer. Volunteers also conduct surveys to help us record the difference the stove is making. This involves sitting with the head of the household, asking some set questions before and after the stove is installed. These surveys take place for up to two years after a stove is fitted, to help us build a true picture of the improvements to the health and well-being of families we support. Building stoves is a great opportunity to get to know and begin to understand the Kenyan way of life and culture in their own environment.

To register for a volunteer placement in July or November 2015, click here