Acacia Innovations provides clean cooking for schools in Kenya

This case study profiles Acacia Innovations, a winner of the 2020 Energy Access Booster Award, which produces and distributes Kuni Safi briquettes made from sugarcane waste to schools and small businesses in Kenya to reduce deforestation and improve health.

• Acacia Innovations addresses the high cost and environmental impact of cooking fuel in Kenyan public schools, where approximately 90 percent use firewood and may spend up to USD 20,000 annually on wood.
• Launched in October 2016, Acacia Innovations produces Kuni Safi, non-carbonized briquettes made from sugarcane fiber. The company transitioned from a distributor to operating its own factory in May 2018 to meet demand.
• The company has served over 350 school customers across 20 counties, selling more than 4,000 tons of briquettes. This has resulted in the conservation of 100,000 trees and impacted over 175,000 school children. Additionally, the company has created over 100 jobs for Kenyans, with women making up more than 50 percent of the workforce.
• The use of Kuni Safi briquettes provides significant environmental and health benefits: every ton of briquettes recycles four cubic meters of agricultural waste, conserves 25 trees, and saves five tons of CO2 over the trees' lifetime. The smoke-free combustion reduces the risk of pneumonia, lung cancer, heart disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for cooks.
• Beyond fuel, Acacia Innovations developed Kenya's first portable, institutional energy-saving cookstoves that can be used with non-carbonized briquettes, firewood, or charcoal.

APA

Sustainable Energy for All (2020). Acacia Innovations provides clean cooking for schools in Kenya. https://www.seforall.org/stories-of-success/acacia-innovations-provides-clean-cooking-for-schools-in-kenya

Chicago

Sustainable Energy for All. Acacia Innovations provides clean cooking for schools in Kenya. 2020. https://www.seforall.org/stories-of-success/acacia-innovations-provides-clean-cooking-for-schools-in-kenya.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Sustainable Energy for All |title=Acacia Innovations provides clean cooking for schools in Kenya |date=26 March 2020 |url=https://www.seforall.org/stories-of-success/acacia-innovations-provides-clean-cooking-for-schools-in-kenya |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sustainableenergyforall2020acacia, author = {{Sustainable Energy for All}}, title = {{Acacia Innovations provides clean cooking for schools in Kenya}}, institution = {Sustainable Energy for All}, year = {2020}, month = mar, url = {https://www.seforall.org/stories-of-success/acacia-innovations-provides-clean-cooking-for-schools-in-kenya}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }