UKAID, USAID partner 265 Energy Limited to address deforestation in Malawi

United Kingdom Aid for International Development (UKAID) and United States Aid for International Development (USAID) have partnered with 265 Energy Limited – a Malawian owned company – to tackle deforestation through introduction of the most affordable gas cooker on the market.

The partnerships follows revelations of a supersonic speed at which natural forests are depleting owing to Malawian households’ overreliance on charcoal and firewood for cooking and curing tobacco, among others.

265 Energy Limited Managing Director Mfundo Mbvundula said his company has released 3kg gas cooker, which comes with a cylinder, cooker ring and 3kg gas at an affordable price of MK35, 000 to enable even low income earning communities to buy the product.

“This is a Malawian owned product that they ordered through the Cleaner Cooking Grant from UKAID and USAID and with the assistance of Standard Bank’s China Trade Agreement. This 3kg Gas Cooker will make it easier for the average Malawian to switch from environmentally destructive charcoal use to the use of modern gas,” Mbvundula said in an interview on Saturday.

Earlier on Thursday, Mbvundula told journalists in Lilongwe that his company is committed to contributing to environmental protection through the production of affordable and environmentally-friendly cooking appliances.

“What we want to address is getting Malawians to start cooking in a modern way, all our neighbours in Zimbabwe, as well as Tanzania, are all using gas, and we are the only ones who are still using charcoal which has health risks to families, children, and also forests. Therefore, with our products, we no longer want people in the country to be cutting down trees for charcoal, we want people to be using gas for cooking,” Mbvundula said.

265 Energy Limited is a homegrown Malawian Company based in Lilongwe that is driven to providing efficient and cost-effective energy solutions for the people of Malawi since 2018. 265 Energy Limited supplies gas, solar and backup power appliances and is located opposite Gateway mall in Lilongwe and at the Trade Fair in Blantyre.

In 2020 they were given the opportunity to make gas accessible to average Malawians with the help of UKAID and USAID and now have embarked to distribute over 5,000 new 3kg Gas Cookers to Malawians in the next 12-18 months.

Deputy Chief of Party for Modern Cooking for Healthy Forests, Blessings Mwale, commended 265 Energy for its affordable gas cooking products and for demonstrating a commitment to the country’s forests and the environment.

In his remarks, Lilongwe City Mayor Councillor Richard Banda, who served as the event’s Guest of Honour at the launch, thanked 265 Energy Limited for the initiative, saying its gas-cooking products would aid in addressing the nation’s deforestation problem.

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