Charlot Magayi (born c. 1993) is a Kenyan stove designer, climate activist and an

Earthshot Prize The Earthshot Prize is a global environmental award that is rewarded to five winners each year for their contributions towards environmentalism. It was first awarded in 2021 and is planned to be awarded annually until 2030. Each winner receives ...

winner in 2022. She and her company Mukuru Stoves were awarded a million pounds. Her success led her to be called "Queen of Africa" by

William, Prince of Wales William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his pat ...

Life

Magayi was brought up in

Mukuru slums Mukuru is a collection of slums in the city of Nairobi. It is approximately south of the central business district of Nairobi. It is one of the largest slums in Nairobi. It stretches along the Nairobi– Ngong River, situated on waste lands in ...

in Nairobi. She became an orphan when she was ten. When she was sixteen and still at school, she gave birth to her daughter. She had to leave school to make a living for her and her daughter and she took to selling charcoal which was used locally for cooking. The fumes from the charcoal affected her and her daughter, and they repeatedly had respiratory tract infections. Magayi's daughter was burnt by their charcoal stove when she was two years old. Magayi returned to adult school and learned about the science of burning fuels and the pollutants. It is estimated that charcoal and wood are used for cooking by 950 million people in sub-Saharan Africa (c. 2022) and within 30 years the number may be 1.6 billion. These sources are heavily polluting. Magayi founded Mukuru Stoves in 2017 which she named after the slum where they lived. The stove she designed sells for an affordable $10, and it reduces pollution to 10% compared with traditional cooking and it uses much less charcoal. In 2018, she won the ''SDGs and Her'' award organised by

UN Women The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity charged with working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women is charged with advocating for the righ ...

. She was one of two winners; the other was the Tanzanian company ''WomenChoice Industries'' which is owned by Lucy Odiwa. On 2 December 2022 she was announced as one of the five winners of the

, which makes £1m available to her to develop her idea and reduce emissions from cooking. Her existing stove burns biomass but she has said that she plans to create an improved model which will be fuelled by ethanol. Magayi and her company were not the only Kenyans involved with the Earthshot Prize; another winner was the Swedish Roam company with their electric vehicle ''Clean Our Air'' which has links to Kenya. In 2024

, gave a special mention to Magayi calling her the "Queen of Africa" for the effect she had on the lives on two million poor Africans.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magayi, Charlot 1990s births Living people Kenyan chief executives Kenyan climate activists Kenyan designers Kenyan activists