» Local stories » Laura
Local Stories - Laura

Laura

Our friend and customer
Laura is a busy and caring mother who works hard to provide for her family and improve their lives. By day she runs a fruit and vegetable stall in Mavalane, her neighbourhood in Maputo. CleanStar initially approached Laura to participate in a customer marketing trial of a clean ethanol cookstove, and she has been one of our most enthusiastic and loyal customers since then.


Why did Laura upgrade?
Laura knows about charcoal. Over the last three years, she has seen the price of charcoal double and has been actively looking for affordable alternatives. Her daughter has asthma, and she learnt from a friend the link between charcoal fumes and family health problems.

Laura is an emerging middle class consumer. She owns a TV, a fridge, uses her mobile to connect with friends and is steadily purchasing the building supplies she needs to add an extension to her house in the suburbs. She manages her money wisely and chooses products carefully.

Laura is also a busy entrepreneur, and understands that time is money. Every day, she has to return from her market stall to cook lunch. With charcoal, this daily chore was time consuming and resulting in lost opportunity to make sales. One of the major benefits of her upgrade to clean cooking has been the additional time saved during the day, which she uses to earn more income.