Rockflower is delighted to congratulate Board Director, Charlot Magayi, on yet another well deserved recognition of her work to bring clean cooking technology to underserved communities through her organization, Mukuru Clean Stoves
Charlot was just named as one of Forbes Africa 30 under 30 2022. With over 600 nominations and an in-depth referral process the competition was high, but Charlot’s story and the magnitude of her achievements proved to be a winner.
“Our journey with Charlot began in 2017 when she was raising initial investment for her Mukuru Clean Stoves social enterprise. We provided very early funding for a proof of concept, from which she was able to leverage other sources of funding and bring her vision to life. I could not be more thrilled for Charlot for this recognition, as she is the embodiment of grit, resilience and determination. She brings a unique perspective to all that she does and blesses all those she meets with her empathy and understanding. We were fortunate to have her join the Rockflower Board of Directors in February 2021. As I was quoted in the Forbes piece - watch this space - she will be President of Kenya before too long!” - Tine Ward, Founder and CEO, Rockflower Partners Inc.
In addition to this recognition from Forbes, Charlot was also awarded the Waislitz Global Citizen Award in 2019, The World Bank’s Inaugural SDG’s and Her First Prize and the 2019 AWIEF Empowerment Award for her work empowering marginalized women in Kenya and her fight against indoor air pollution.
This past Mother’s Day Rockflower highlighted the importance of the Mothering Economy in celebrating mothers and those tasked with mothering. Looking at our current economic structures from the perspective of mothering, there are many other ways to measure progress that are not limited to traditional metrics of growth.
Within the Rockflower partner family, there are so many mothers and other individuals tasked with mothering who demonstrate daily the deep breadth of knowledge available in how to keep households, communities and nations thriving. By listening to their wisdom as they insist on a different future for their children and grandchildren, we can place ourselves at the center of their willingness to nurture, not just your own child, but every child, with a capacity to imagine a future based not on “getting” but on “giving”, and an intrinsic ability to predicate all of this on a practical and achievable framework.
Charlot is the embodiment of this future and this mindset, something that has been known by so many women for decades, understanding that a new economic paradigm really is possible if those who are best positioned to direct the funds are given the opportunity to do so.
“It [the mothering economy ] would mean that the economy as a whole world would function to serve and nurture the most underdeveloped economies within it, that the accumulation of wealth from one economy at the expense of another that has not yet matured, would not be looked down upon. The 'maternal gaze' would be a more selfless, rather than selfish approach to obtaining and distributing wealth.” - Charlot Magayi