2025/2026 Chimneys for Africa Strategic Plan Overview

Stage 1 (Completed March 2024): 

In March 2024, our team travelled to Kenya and Tanzania to coordinate the manufacturing and installation of our first prototype.  There were several key elements of this trip:

1. Establish Supplier Relationships—We were able to spend time at Ken’s Metal

Industries in Nairobi and see first hand their manufacturing capability and quality.

The laser cutting was of high standard and they have the ability to scale production.

2. Install and Test a Chimney—we were able to meet with a local community through our contacts in Tanzania.  They were willing for us to install a chimney in their cooking hut.  We installed the chimney and were able, through an interpreter, to receive feedback once we had installed the chimney.  

Initial Feedback:  they were very grateful that they could cook without smoke and were happy with how the product worked.   

3. Observe—We were able to observe how this community lived and cooked—how they build fires, the materials and construction methods used to build cooking huts and the cultural significance of food.  

Key Observation: Mumma Walter (the first chimney recipient) was able to build a fire and commence cooking under the new chimney immediately—the design is intuitive.   

4. Prepare—The prototype expedition galvanised the need to address household air pollution as the practice of cooking over fires indoors was observed to be ubiquitous throughout the rural and semi-urban areas of Tanzania and Kenya that we travelled.

Stage 2 (January 2025 to December 2025) 

We aim to develop a network of local manufacturers, distributors and installers who install chimneys in local communities. 

Vision:

Chimneys for Africa—we are seeking long term local chimney partners in a variety of regional and cultural contexts: urban, rural and remote, across southern and eastern Africa.

Mission:

Staying in local communities (where invited) to establish partner connections and introduce the chimney project

For more details refer to the Community Engagement Expedition Overview

Stage 3 (January 2026 to June 2026) 

After the initial installation phase, it is important to follow up with monitoring and evaluation in order to confirm design efficacy and cultural consonsance.  Determine 5 key locations where the chimneys could be rolled out at scale by local manufacturers and installers.

Assess the long term viability of the chimney product in its current form:

• Travel back through community installation sites and listen and observe—determine existing product usage and whether design changes are required

• Connect with the network of identified suppliers and discuss scale, manufacturing capability and supply chain

• Workshop with potential installers to establish business frameworks and installation timelines

Stage 4 (July 2026 to December 2026) 

Scaling the chimney rollout in 5 key locations that we have identified through the monitoring and evaluation stage.