It is estimated that 88% of households in Sierra Leone use firewood, 7% use charcoal and 4% use kerosene. 97% of households in rural communities apparently use firewood compared to 74% in urban areas and 26% in Freetown, the capacity city. The use of improved biomass improved cookstoves is very insignificant. According to the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstove, the penetration rate of clean and improved cookstoves is 0.01% in Sierra Leone. The Playhouse Foundation seeks to engage in a longer term and sustainable solution to ecological, environmental and developmental problems arising from the use of firewood and charcoal by running a Training of Trainers? programme for the 22 beneficiaries who were previously trained in the manufacture of cooks in July 2022 order to refine their skills in the manufacture of cookstoves especially in welding and clay molding. 22 addition participants beneficiaries will be trained in the manufacture of 2 models of clean cookstoves. In additional, the 22 Trainers and 22 new trainees will get training in branding and marketing of their business as well as in business development and coaching. The project will also design a digitalized system of data collection on the use of firewood and charcoal and the transition to clean and improved cookstoves. Additionally, the project will raise awareness and advocate for the use of clean and improved cookstoves through community outreach, and the media: social, radio anad print. It will also map the retailers of clean and improved cookstoves and monitor the sales. The rationale for this project is the new wave of energy transition from biomass where several households, small businesses in roadside catering and the hospitality entities, commercial businesses, educational and correctional facilities once reliant on solid fuels for cooking are now not only seeking to use clean cookstoves but also clean fuels. The project objective is to address the problem of deforestation and to reduce the expenditure made in cooking. Key results include transfer of knowledge in the production of clean and fuel efficient cookstove, skills development that could lead to employment (self or paid). The key expected results are: (i) Awareness raising on energy transition through the dissemination of the benefits of clean cookstoves to 14,000 people across 14 chiefdoms (1,000 per chiefdom); (ii) 22 Trainers complete training and 22 new beneficiaries are trained on the use of clean and improved cookstoves; 24 clean and improved cookstoves brand ambassadors designated in Kono District that would also serve the Eastern region (Kailahun, Kenema and Kono Districts). Target site: Koeyer, Kono District and its environs. Communities involved are: Koeyer, Yardu, Council Road and Gbense market communities.

Primary Objectives:
To reduce deforestation in Kono District through the introduction of a forum to provide training for people on the production and utilization of improved and fuel efficient and affordable cooking devices for household and institutional use and the promotion of increased use of these cookstoves in their communities and beyond.

Specific Objectives
? Ensure the training facilitates (knowledge and skills) and strengthens local cookstove design and manufacturing capacity for scaling. Promote networking and knowledge sharing in terms of technologies and entrepreneurship.
? Ensure the training stimulates the production and development of the clean cooking market (train women and youths to produce metal casings and clay liners; and support advocacy and gender-based entrepreneurship skills training for small-scale enterprise establishment).
? Ensure the training promotes national and local action to increase access to clean cooking, gender equality, and impact assessment (monitoring and evaluating the impact of this project and its effect on the communities and individuals who benefited).
? Equip participants with knowledge to understand the principles and concepts of cookstoves, fuels and fire.
? Enable participants to learn and understand the parameters relevant for testing and evaluation of cookstoves and how they relate to each other
? Build the participants? skills on using hand tools and equipment for cookstove design, development and manufacture and the risk associated with them.
? Guide participants to identify the appropriate materials for cookstoves development and manufacturing.
? Equip participants to understand and apply the design process and support them to prepare them for production, installation of stoves and kilns
Understand the principles and concepts of cookstoves, fuels and fire with emphasis on household, commercial and institutional cookstoves.
? Acquire hands-on skills on the use of hand tools and equipment for cookstove design, development and manufacture and the risk associated with them.
? Apply the parameters relevant for designing, testing and evaluating of cookstoves
? Identify the appropriate materials for cookstoves manufacturing
? Produce stoves/furnaces per group for distribution.