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In a small workshop in Rwanda’s Gasabo District, Jean Bosco had a simple but powerful vision: to help families cook cleaner, save money, and breathe easier. What started as a one-man operation crafting clay stoves has grown into Green Hanga Ltd, one of Rwanda’s leading clean cooking enterprises. Today, thousands of households across Rwanda cook their meals using Green Hanga’s improved or higher-tier biomass cookstoves.
When Jean Bosco officially registered Green Hanga Ltd with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) in February 2014, he faced the classic challenges of any small manufacturer: limited machinery, lack of technical expertise, and difficulty reaching customers. His handmade clay stoves showed promise, but scaling up seemed impossible without help.
“We had the passion and the vision,” recalls Jean Bosco, Green Hanga’s Managing Director, “but we lacked the marketing knowledge to compete for government tenders. Without certified products, we could not even bid on the opportunities that could have transformed our business.”
The help they needed came through the Reducing Climate Impact of Cooking (ReCIC) project. After a competitive selection process, Green Hanga was chosen for comprehensive support that would change everything.
The support package was exactly what the growing company needed:
- Skills training in business planning and marketing
- Production equipment and raw materials to scale up manufacturing
A three-wheeler vehicle for distributing their stoves
project support, Green Hanga was able to develop and certify their flagship Vuba 02 stove as a Tier 3 product by the Rwanda Standards Board—a mark of high efficiency and low emissions that opened doors to new markets.
Green Hanga has distributed over 16,000 units of their certified Vuba 02 stove across Gasabo, Nyagatare, and Nyabihu districts since joining the ReCIC project. Their popular Cana Rumwe stove (a tier 2 stove) has reached even more families, with over 30,000 units sold to households and institutions like DUHAMIC and REDO, organizations involved in rural development and clean cooking initiatives, in areas including Karongi and Ngororero. The company has tripled its permanent workforce from 2 to 6 employees and mobilised around 500 temporary workers between 2022 and 2025 for manufacturing, marketing, and distribution.
With improved cash flow from increased revenue, Green Hanga became independent and capable on its own, and it began importing raw materials, boosting their production capacity.
But the real measure of success is not in the workshop—it is in Rwanda’s kitchens. Green Hanga’s stoves reduce firewood consumption by up to.
The health benefits are equally compelling. The smoke-free stoves eliminate or reduce indoor air pollution compared to the traditional three-stone fire, particularly benefiting women, who do most of the cooking in Rwandan households.
Josiane, a Gasabo District resident who cooks with the Vuba 02 stove, experiences these benefits firsthand. “I use much less firewood now, and my food cooks so much faster,” she explains. “What I love most is that the smoke has reduced. My kitchen is not filled with smoke anymore.”
Today, Green Hanga operates with confidence. The company has access to credit from local banks, a trained workforce, and the machinery needed to meet growing demand. The business skills learned through ReCIC training, such as business planning and partnership management, have equipped them to navigate challenges independently.
“We sincerely thank the ReCIC Project for their continuous support,” says Jean Bosco. “To other development partners, you are welcome to join us. And to our customers, our stoves will save your fuel and your time.”
Green Hanga’s journey from informal clay stove maker to certified higher-tier biomass cookstove manufacturer demonstrates how targeted and integrated support can unlock local entrepreneurship. The company’s dedication to delivering higher-tier biomass cookstoves across Rwanda continues to grow, helping thousands more households transition to efficient, low-emission cooking technologies—one stove at a time.
ReCIC is a project co-funded by the European Union under the Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+) initiative, implemented by SNV, and supporting the Government of Rwanda to provide sustainable production and dissemination of improved cookstoves (ICS) by working with producers to improve capacities, and aiming at the sales of 500,000 improved cookstoves. The project specifically focused on supporting local companies to develop, scale, and distribute clean, efficient cookstoves and biomass pellets, reducing emissions, improving health outcomes, and empowering women and youth across Rwanda.
