Impact & Solutions
FARMERCO
Clean Cooking for Households.
Ethanol Stove Starter Packs: Each new customer receives a Farmerco ethanol stove starter pack, typically including:
- One high-efficiency ethanol stove (starting with the CleanCook COMET 1 model).
- Two 3-litre reusable high-density polyethylene (HDPE) jerrycans of ethanol cooking fuel.
The starter pack is priced to be competitive with charcoal, with flexible payment options through employers, savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs), microfinance institutions, and community groups.
Digital & Carbon: All stove sales and fuel refills are logged through a digital platform. This allows us to register every stove owner, track fuel purchases, manage warranties, and generate reliable data for results-based financing and carbon projects.
Recurring Fuel Refills: All stove sales and fuel refills are logouseholds can refill their HDPE reuseable jerrycans at neighbourhood retail outlets and kiosks, Farmerco-branded shops in key Kampala and Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area (GKMA) locations, and partner service points linked to SACCOs, savings groups, and employers. Homesteads can also get a special weekly home fuel delivery service from our fleet of motorbike riders.
Partnership with Upya and CarbonHQ
Farmerco has partnered with Upya and CarbonHQ to make our clean cooking impact fully digital and verifiable.
- Upya is used by our field teams to register customers and stoves, log starter pack sales, and record every fuel refill sale.
- This data flows into CarbonHQ, which applies recognised clean cooking carbon methodologies and prepares auditor-ready reports.
Why it matters
This setup gives:
- Real-time visibility on stoves, fuel use, and locations.
- Faster, lower-cost carbon verification, so credits reach the market sooner.
- Stronger confidence for banks, development partners, and regulators.
Over time, the carbon revenue will be used to keep stoves and fuel affordable and to reach more low-income households.
How Farmers Benefit:
Fair and transparent pricing with reduced dependence on speculative middlemen.
Stable demand as ethanol cooking and fuel use grows.
Better yields and practices through collaboration with local governments and partners.
For the Farmers
Farmerco’s ethanol is produced from locally sourced feedstocks such as cassava, maize, and sugarcane molasses. We work with farmer cooperatives, SACCOs, organized groups, and local governments to provide fair prices, stable demand, and support for agronomy and inputs.
On Households
- Cleaner air in the kitchen—no smoke, less coughing, fewer eye irritations.
- Lower and more predictable monthly cooking fuel costs.
- Faster cooking, freeing up time for work, rest, or study.
On the Rural Economy
- Stronger, more resilient incomes for farmers.
- Local job creation in distillery operations, logistics, retail, and services.
- A working model of how clean energy can drive rural industrialisation.
On the Environment
- Less demand for charcoal, easing pressure on Uganda’s forests.
- Reduced black carbon and greenhouse gas emissions.
- Support for Uganda’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets and broader climate commitments.
On Women and Youth
- Reduced time spent sourcing charcoal or firewood.
- New income opportunities as sales agents, retailers, technicians, and data collectors.
- Leadership opportunities in community savings groups and cooperatives linked to Farmerco.