Development of a fuel efficient cookstove through a participatory bottom-up approach

Abstract

Background: Since 1940s, other than a few success stories, the outcomes of efforts of development and dissemination of improved cookstoves a have not been so fruitful. This paper presents a bottom-up approach that was successfully implemented to develop a fuel-efficient cookstove in a tribal village that has resulted in a substantial reduction in firewood consumption. Method: The approach ensured people's participation at multiple stages of the process that started from project selection by capturing people's needs/desires and studying the existing cooking practice to understand its importance in the local context. The performance of the cookstoves was evaluated by modifying a standard Water Boiling Test to accommodate the existing cooking practice. The improvement of the cookstove was achieved by fabricating a simple twisted tape assembly that could be placed on it without changing the existing cookstove. Results: The optimization of the twisted tape device was first carried out in the laboratory and then implemented in the field. The field-level tests resulted in reduction of firewood consumption by around 21% which is a substantial improvement for such a device. It was also found that the improvement reduced soot b accumulation by around 38% and time of cooking preparations by around 18.5%. Conclusion: Overall, a bottom-up and participatory process that not only addressed people's perceived needs but also ensured no changes in the existing cooking practice while providing an easy, low cost (around US$1.25) c , and locally manufacturable solution led to a highly successful improvement in the local cookstove that was accepted easily by the villagers.

Public participation in technological innovation: The case of the Tshulu stove development programme

“…Only recently has the issue of indoor air pollution as a function of cookstoves come to the fore; in previous cookstove projects this was a secondary concern (Honkalaskar et al, 2013). At present there are calls to introduce energy-efficient and less polluting cookstoves and clean fuels to poor and marginalised societies.…”

“…The main goal during these programmes was to provide ICSs with high energy-efficiency during the cooking process, which was thought to bridge the gap between demand for firewood and dwindling forest resources. These early programmes erroneously assumed that, when introduced, ICSs would be adopted readily and that their introduction would lead to a self-sustaining programme (Honkalaskar et al, 2013). Barnes et al (1994) contended that during these early stove programmes it was assumed that, since the ICSs were superior to the baseline traditional stoves, fuel consumption rates would decrease by up to 75% when using them.…”

“…In fact, most of the cookstoves introduced during this era did not show huge fuel savings compared to the baseline, meaning that the programmes had failed. It became clear that chances of success for cookstove programmes are enhanced when the ICSs reduce fuel consumption significantly and when they are made by local artisans at affordable prices (Honkalaskar et al, 2013).…”

“…Early cookstove programmes (before 1980), aimed at introducing improved cookstoves (ICSs) in developing countries and focused on themes including working with and empowering women, income generation by poor artisans, and environmental conservation (Honkalaskar et al, 2013). The main goal during these programmes was to provide ICSs with high energy-efficiency during the cooking process, which was thought to bridge the gap between demand for firewood and dwindling forest resources.…”

“…These programmes also largely failed, as they were not readily accepted by the rural poor. According to Honkalaskar et al (2013), limited cookstove programmes were successful, especially in urban areas where the ICSs became economical due to fuel sales. Such success stories include the Jiko stoves in Kenya (Energy for Sustainable Development, 2000;Sanchez, 2008), the China Stove Programme (Smith et al, 1993), and the Indian national programme on improved cookstoves (Jagdish, 2004).…”