Soaring energy costs threaten wildlife as families turn back to charcoal

In Brenda Obare’s Kibera kitchen, a blue flame once lit up for dinner. Now, her stove is often cold.

In Nairobi’s vast Kibera settlement, she crouches over a charcoal burner, coaxing a smoky fire to cook for her family outside her tin-roofed home. Cooking gas is now too expensive and often unavailable; charcoal, however, is always there.