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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Vivo Energy Uganda is leading Uganda’s clean-cooking transition with a targeted push into the institutional market, one of the largest and most fuel-intensive segments in the country.
The company on Friday convened head teachers from Church of Uganda–founded schools at Mengo Senior School for a gas cooking workshop designed to accelerate the shift from biomass to LPG.
The initiative comes at a pivotal moment for Uganda’s energy market. Biomass primarily firewood and charcoal still accounts for more than 85% of national cooking fuel consumption, but rising costs, deforestation pressures and forthcoming domestic LPG production are reshaping the economics of institutional cooking. Schools, which feed millions of students daily, are emerging as early testbeds for large-scale LPG adoption.
Church of Uganda (COU) officials acknowledge that schools have become significant drivers of forest degradation.
Dr Rev Canon Paul Kakooza, Secretary of COU schools, said institutions contribute to the degradation of forests through cutting trees, emphasising that a shift to modern fuels could have immense environmental benefits.
With more than 5,000 primary and 600 secondary schools under its umbrella, the Church is piloting LPG adoption through its model schools.
Kakooza pointed to King’s College Budo now fully transitioned to LPG as proof that industrial-scale gas cooking is both feasible and cost-effective.
For Vivo Energy, institutional kitchens offer a strategic growth opportunity. LPG Manager at Vivo Energy, Alvin Bamutire outlined the operational inefficiencies of firewood-dependent schools, many of which require “a lorry today, another lorry in two days, another lorry in three days,” making costs unpredictable and logistics burdensome.
At Budo, he said, cooking time for staple foods dropped sharply beans from five hours to two-and-a-half while overall spending decreased by at least 20%, with further reductions anticipated once local LPG comes to market.
The company is installing industrial-grade bulk tanks and professional piping investments Bamutire said would normally cost more than $20,000 at zero installation cost for selected COU model schools, a strategy designed to reduce barriers to entry.
Uganda’s clean-cooking narrative is shifting as regulators, fuel marketers and development partners push for alternatives to biomass, citing environmental damage, health risks and economic inefficiency. The government recently signed an agreement with Vivo Energy and UNOC to store and distribute LPG expected as a by-product of domestic oil production.
“Gas is even going to become cheaper the estimate is it will drop by more than 30%,” Bamutire said, noting that price reductions could materialise within two years possibly accelerating mass adoption across institutions.
The Managing Director Vivo Energy, Joanita Mukasa Menya emphasised the labour and health implications of the transition.
“The safe, efficient, and cost-effective solution for cooking we are delivering to schools is meant to relieve chefs who will no longer have to spend nights cooking”.
“Beyond saving time, we’re preventing respiratory illnesses caused by smoke inhalation.”
Dr Grace Nantajja, Chairperson of COU school heads, said the sector’s influence extends beyond classrooms. With thousands of students and tens of thousands of parents connected to each institution, schools can drive behavioural change at scale.
“We should not go for wood, we should not go for charcoal, we need to have smarter ways of cooking our food,” he said.
