Paper short abstract:

Future visions of many women who work in geothermal energy in Kenya revolve around direct use. Instead of the ambition to generate “power for the nation”, these experts are driven by a vision of mining hot water to increase food security and lessen the burden on women and children in rural areas.

Paper long abstract:

Future visions of many women who work in geothermal energy in Kenya revolve around direct use. These experts are driven by a vision of mining hot water to increase food security and lessen the burden on women and children in rural areas, even more than by their mandate of generating “power for the nation”. Geothermal resources can be utilized to generate electricity by drilling deep into the Earth and using the energy of the resulting hot fluids to drive turbines and heat exchangers. The potential uses of the mined matter depend on the temperature of the geothermal reservoir: Even if the well-produced fluid is too cool for power generation, it can still be used to f. e. heat greenhouses, dry grains, pasteurize milk or pursue aquaculture. In Kenya, women and children are traditionally responsible for gathering biomass, water and food. Many women who are now working in parastatal electricity generating or steam producing agencies as engineers, scientists or project managers have vivid memories of their mother’s labor and tell stories about performing these tasks themselves during their childhood. Their visions of a geothermal future include direct uses of hot water since this can directly impact lives of Kenyans who live close to the geothermal heat mining sites, while power lines mainly pass over villages on their way to bigger cities. This article employs ethnographic observations, qualitative, in-depth interviews and informal conversations with Kenyan women working in the geothermal sector to explore gendered visions of energy futures.