Jompy Stove – Double Cooked - Rob Gould - Kenya

27-09-2010

Kibera in Nairobi is often described as "Africa's biggest slum" and is widely regarded as a no-go area for non-residents. But once there, it seems neither larger nor worse than many other informal urban areas. Of course you have to look out for the open sewers and for the "flying toilets", plastic bags filled with excrement that are flung out of the small and densely packed homes.

Poor sanitation is the main reason we are here to film a demonstration in the street of the –Jompy instant water heater.

The Jompy can provide a continuous flow of safe drinking water from a basic cooking stove, at the same time as its being used for cooking.

One reason I feel safe is because I am with Kalfan Okoth from Celsius Solar and Kalfan is a boxer. He is softly spoken as he demonstrates the Jompy but one look at him tends to keep potential troublemakers quiet.

In fact troublemakers are restricted only to the odd drunk. Most people are gaping in wide-eyed awe at the scene unfolding as Kalfan connects the Jompy to a plastic water barrel and places it onto a stove. Within 10 seconds the water coming out the other end of the Jompy's spiral tube is scalding hot.

Kalfan's party trick is to remove the metal spiral from the flames and press it straight into an onlooker's hands, where its coolness prompts expressions of amazement. Very soon everyone in the crowd is reaching to touch the Jompy, in disbelief.

Its simply a very efficient heat exchanger which cools down, when removed from the heat source, just as quickly as it heats up when its placed into the flames.

The next day found us in Kariobangi South, another area of very poor housing in Nairobi. If anything this looked more desperate than Kibera but we got a rapturous welcome as a rather formidable football team made up of ladies of a certain age approached, singing a song about the Jompy as they sashayed towards us with great grace.

After another of Kalfan's demonstrations, which excited the housewives in the crowd for reasons not entirely related to the thermodynamics of heat exchangers, members of the football team told us that the Jompy would be useful for them. Its ability to produce safe drinking water at the same time as a meal is cooked would save fuel and time, they said.

Then one of the women stepped forward and, at first faltering but with a voice that gathered strength, she announced that clean drinking water was especially important to the health of those living with HIV.

"I am one of those people, and I hope I can be an example to show others that you can have HIV and lead a productive life." She said.

Posted by Rob Gould

Jompy Stoves – Double Cooked – David Osbourne

27-09-2010

The filming of the World challenge came at a very exciting time for my company and I as it was also the launch of our product on to the shelves in the Kenyan supermarket Uchumi. The uniqueness of the jompy is that it speaks for itself, a quick demonstration allows this simple device to be understod by any one in any walk of life and Rob encountered this during his filming in the local areas in nairobi. Slum dwellers to city dwellers understood and grasped the concept instantly and this key cultural point is the baseline for our product. We believe thoroughly that for a product to sustain itself it has to be fully acceptable to the culture.

During the demonstrations we felt great rewards providing a simple device which could improve their standard of living and provide them with a safe means to heat their water for hygiene, cleanliness and sanitation. For many of these people it has been the first ever time they have experienced hot running water coupled with the fact that they can do it themselves gives great self empowerment for instance in rural areas we have ladies who have ran their own pipes into their kitchens to provide them a readily available hot water source.

We took Rob into the slums of Kenya where he could see where the jompy would be of great benefit to the people and from the outset he could see the acceptance both from the practical use of the jompy and its interaction with community activities for instance women empowerment, job creation, and relief from deadlock of excessive fuel use and the burden of water bourne diseases. We are very optimistic about the future of the Jompy we would like to take this unique and adaptable device to all countries who still use fires to cook and ease the daily grind of having to boil water for hours. the jompy will be known worldwide for reliability and ease of use. We at Celsius Solar congratulate all the finalists in the challenge as it is so inspiring to hear of others around the world helping to produce sustainable projects to help those most in need. The way we say it we are all winners.

Posted by David Osbourne