Introduction.
The Tanzanian Schools Green Cooking project is a transformative initiative aimed at revolutionizing culinary practices in Tanzanian educational institutions. The project targets the inefficient traditional cooking methods prevalent in government and local schools, with the goal of introducing modern, eco-friendly practices. The vision is to create a culinary landscape where every meal prepared is a testament to sustainability and efficiency.
The project believes that changing cooking methods can have a broader positive impact on the environment, public health, and the quality of education. It’s not just about implementing change, but about sowing the seeds of a sustainable future where every meal is a conscious choice towards environmental conservation and overall well-being. The project aims to inspire communities and individuals beyond school kitchens to embrace a more sustainable lifestyle.
Pilot project.
A ground survey was conducted from 15th January 2024 to 21st January 2024 around Dodoma region (Capital city of Tanzania) and we were able to visit a total of 15 schools (7 primary schools and 8 secondary schools) all being government schools.
Out of the 15 schools only 3 schools had built modern cooking areas while 12 schools still had the old style of cooking. We were able to assess the way the meals were prepared and noticed that having a modern cooking area would be of benefit to the school community and the environment at large.
With a focus on one particular school (Mlimwa Secondary school) located at Maili mbili in Dodoma region, hosting an average of 1,122 students and 60 staff. The school still uses olden way of meal preparation serving students and spends approximately 1,200,000TSH on the purchase of firewood monthly (approx. 112 small rolies). According to the cooking staff the current cooking method consumes a lot of firewood.
The School faces the following challenges:-
- The school purchases 112 small trucks of firewood every month and each purchase is TSH.
100,000 (One hundred thousand shillings). - Cooking the food for the students sometimes takes a longer time to get ready to
eat. - A lot of smoke due to the open fires in the kitchen area at the school.
After a thorough survey on the school’s kitchen infrastructure, we chose this particular school for the purpose of conducting the pilot project by building a modernized kitchen facility which is more sustainable and environmentally friendly. The school is currently on motion to building a new building for the kitchen but had no plan for a modernized transformation of the cooking area. We had the full support from all the teaching and non-teaching staff of the school and they are happy and ready for the project.
We look forward to the implementation of the project and an interview will be published in the coming few days before the end of January 2024.
See attached photos for the current situation in tge school.
