When conversations about clean cooking take place, they often focus on households. Yet some of Kenya's largest consumers of cooking energy are public institutions such as schools, hospitals, prisons and correctional facilities. Every day, these institutions prepare meals for hundreds and sometimes thousands of people, often operating their kitchens for long hours. 

For institutions that rely heavily on firewood, this comes with several challenges. Beyond the cost of buying and transporting fuel, there is the effort required to handle and store large quantities of firewood. Smoke and soot affect the kitchen environment and the people working in it, while continued demand for firewood puts pressure on forest resources and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. 

The scale of this dependence became clear during assessments carried out through the Accelerating County Cooking Transitions (A2CT) project. At Manyani Prison in Taita Taveta County, one prison officer remarked that the institution's firewood stove had “never been turned off” since the prison was established in 1954. A similar picture emerged at Shikusa Borstal in Kakamega County, where the firewood stove remains burning throughout the day. As one staff member put it, “a matchbox is not a cost we even consider,” because once the fire is lit, it is rarely put out. 

These simple observations capture the reality of institutional cooking. These kitchens cook day after day, year after year, supporting an essential public service. So, how can cleaner cooking help public institutions reduce costs, improve working conditions and service delivery, while contributing to Kenya's clean energy transition? 

Located in Kakamega County, Shikusa Borstal Institution is one of Kenya's two correctional institutions for young male juvenile offenders. Established in 1963, the institution is home to approximately 251 juveniles and employs 40 staff.  

Feeding this population requires significant cooking energy. The institution currently consumes approximately 300 kilograms of firewood every day, costing around KES 2,800 daily, equivalent to more than KES 1 Million annually. This represents a substancial recurring operational cost and a significant sustained demand for biomass, highlighting the potential for institutional clean cooking solutions to reduce costs and improve energy efficiency. Through technical support from the A2CT project, Shikusa installed a prefabricated biogas demonstration system, becoming the first institutional facility supported by the project to adopt biogas for clean cooking. The system is currently being used to prepare breakfast and lunch for approximately 40 staff members, providing a practical demonstration of how biogas can be integrated into institutional cooking operations and reduce reliance on traditional biomass fuels. 

While this represents only a small part of the institution's overall cooking needs, the benefits are already evident. Kitchen staff no longer have to contend with smoke when cooking with biogas, while pots, surfaces and the kitchen remain cleaner due to the absence of soot associated with firewood. Staff have also found the system easy to operate, requiring minimal training.  

These changes may seem simple, but they matter. For kitchen staff, clean cooking technology needs to be practical, reliable and easy to use. Reduced smoke and soot, together with a cleaner working environment, provide immediate and tangible benefits. This experience demonstrates that the clean cooking transition is not only about changing fuels or technologies but also about improving the working conditions and experiences of the staff, putting a human face to the clean cooking transition.

The biogas demonstration has opened a wider conversation within Shikusa about what the institution's future kitchen could look like. Management plans to introduce 50 kg LPG cylinders for preparing breakfast and light meals for the 251 juveniles, expand the existing biogas system, and explore other cleaner options, including electric cooking and briquettes. 

This ambition aligns with the Government of Kenya's wider efforts to transition correctional facilities away from wood fuel. The State Department for Correctional Services has set 2028 as the target for transitioning correctional institutions to clean energy, with LPG, biogas and electric cooking among the options being explored. The government has also recognised the importance of partnerships and resource mobilisation to support this transition. 

For Shikusa, however, the high upfront cost of institutional clean cooking technologies remains a major barrier. While there is a clear willingness to transition, financing these investments within existing institutional budgets can be challenging. The institution is therefore looking for partners and additional support to build on the biogas demonstration and progressively reduce its reliance on traditional firewood. 

This experience raises a broader question for Kenya's institutional clean cooking transition: How can we make cleaner institutional cooking solutions affordable and accessible to public facilities that are ready to transition but cannot meet the upfront investment costs on their own? 

Moving away from firewood does not necessarily mean replacing every stove at once. Shikusa's experience shows that institutional clean cooking can happen in phases, with different technologies serving different cooking needs. Factors such as the type and volume of food being prepared, fuel availability, infrastructure, cooking time and cost will influence which solutions works well and most appropriate. 

Rather than asking which single technology should replace firewood, a more practical question is: Which combination of technologies can gradually reduce dependence on traditional biomass while keeping institutional cooking reliable, affordable and efficient? 

A phased approach allows institutions to introduce cleaner technologies step by step, learn what works and spread investments costs over time. Shikusa's experience shows that the transition does not have to be one big leap but can happen gradually through practical steps towards a cleaner and more efficient energy mix. 

Institutional clean cooking is about much more than changing fuels. Cleaner and more efficient technologies can reduce institutions' dependence on firewood and the costs associated with its purchase, transport, handling and storage, while creating healthier, cleaner and more comfortable working environments for kitchen staff. 

The benefits also extend beyond the kitchen to environmental benefits. Reducing firewood consumption can ease pressure on forest resources and contribute to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Institutional clean cooking can also support circular economy approaches, particularly where organic waste from schools, hospitals and correctional facilities can be converted into biogas and used as an energy resource. 

Most importantly, public institutions offer significant potential for scale. When facilities preparing hundreds of meals every day, reduce their dependence on firewood, the benefits can quickly add up. When these approaches are replicated across other public institutions including schools, hospitals, and prisons, these changes could mean lower fuel costs, reduced demand for biomass and improve working environments for kitchen staff.

Shikusa shows that interest in cleaner cooking can grow when institutions experience the benefits firsthand. However, demonstration projects alone are not enough. Scaling requires investment, particularly because many public institutions operate within constrained budgets and cannot easily afford the high upfront cost of cleaner cooking solutions. 

Partnerships between government, development partners, technology providers, financial institutions and the private sector can help bridge this gap and create viable pathways for institutional transitions. Technical support is equally important to ensure technologies are properly sized, installed, safely operated and maintained. 

As institutions transition, tracking changes in firewood consumption, fuel expenditure, cooking time, emissions and staff experience will help demonstrate what works and strengthen the case for further investment. Demonstration sites such as Shikusa can therefore become valuable learning sites, helping answer practical questions: What works? At what cost? What savings are possible? And what support would enable other institutions to follow?

Shikusa Borstal is still at an early stage of its clean cooking journey, but its experience demonstartes what is possible when institutions are supported to take practical steps towards cleaner cooking. While the biogas system does not yet meet the institution's full cooking needs, but it provides a practical starting point. Kitchen staff are already experiencing less smoke, no soot from biogas cooking and a cleaner working environment. More importantly, the demonstration has created momentum and strengthened the institution's interest in exploring additional clean cooking solutions.  

The institution is ready to go further, but the high upfront cost of cleaner technologies remains a major barrier. The opportunity now is to connect this willingness with the right partners that can provide technical and financial support to enable Shikusa transition completely. 

As Kenya works towards universal access to clean cooking and transitions its correctional facilities away from wood fuel, public institutions should become a bigger part of the conversation. Schools, hospitals, prisons and correctional facilities are significant energy users where cleaner cooking can deliver economic, environmental and social benefits at scale. 

Shikusa shows that the transition does not have to happen all at once, it can start with one practical step. With the right support, experiences such as this can move beyond individual demonstrations and provide models that can be replicated across Kenya, turning public kitchens into important drivers of the clean cooking transition.