- Date
- 8th March 2024
- Categories
- International Women's Day
By Dr. Joni Cook (Loughborough University).
With thanks to the authors of the Nigeria eCookbook, lead contributor Anthony Akpasoh and contributors Chibuzor Mgbeokwere, Esuuk Awajiokan Ikpokonte, Jacob Fodio Todd, and Alicia Butterfield, the recipe contributors Lewis Okey Egom, Mary Christopher, Bethel Okoro, Affiong Ime Udofia, Dada Bilikis Adebimpe, Khadija Kabir, Chidinma Okwum, Edna Dogon-Yaro, and Hauwa Ahmed Adam, and the nine women cooks for sharing their experiences in preparing the recipes.
MECS and global partners are delighted to join in worldwide celebrations of International Women’s Day 2024. At MECS, empowering those typically left behind lies at the heart of all that we do. In line with this year’s campaign theme of inspire inclusion, we place a spotlight on the programme’s women-led, inclusive electric cooking activities in Nigeria, where MECS recently partnered with Tovero Energy Ltd. to develop the Nigeria eCookbook (or energy cookbook), the latest publication in the MECS eCookbook series which measure the energy, time and cost savings of cooking traditional dishes using energy efficient electric appliances.
The eCookbook champions a women-led and inclusive approach to clean cooking, featuring female cooks of Port Harcourt who used the energy-efficient electric pressure cooker to prepare traditional dishes. These women, who also perform the role of caregivers, engage in daily cooking routines for their families and as an occupation. Here, we showcase some of the cooks and their experiences of cooking with electricity. Chidinma Okwum, from Abia State, prepared traditional dish Moi Moi (beans pudding) using the electric pressure cooker (EPC). Chidinma comments:
Edna Dogon-Yaro, from Adamawa State, Lafian Margi Local government area, prepared traditional dishes Margi Special (a North-Eastern Nigerian fish dish) and Tuwo Masara (cornmeal) using the EPC, and comments:
Results of the eCookbook clearly show that preparing traditional, Nigerian meals with the EPC saves labour, money and time, whilst not compromising on taste. These results reinforce those of the Controlled Cooking Tests upon which the development of the eCookbook was built on, which show that cooking using electricity is the cheapest and fastest method of cooking. The eCookbook makes key recommendations for utility companies, cooks, policy makers, private sector and other sector actors to support the rapid scaling of eCooking in Nigeria, a transition which would dramatically improve health, quality of life, and livelihood outcomes for women who are disproportionately impacted by the burdens associated with cooking using polluting, biomass fuels.
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All images, credit: Ekomobong Samuel.