User Perspectives of Characteristics of Improved Cookstoves from a Field Evaluation in Western Kenya
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Experimental Section
2.1. Study Design Overview
2.2. Study Population and Sampling Procedures
2.3. Overview of Improved Cookstoves
2.4. Training of Field Staff
2.5. Data Collection
2.6. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. All ICS v. Traditional Three-Stone Fire
3.1.1. Ease of Use
“Adjusting the fire is easy because after adjusting it I can go back and sit down and the fire goes on well and when I see the fire is almost going off, I add more firewood.”(Participant Village K, Round 1)
“…When the wood has burnt it (the ICS) gets full with ash, so it is hard to add (wood) because it (the combustion chamber) is squeezed.”(Participant Village W, Round 5)
“These other stoves that we are using don’t have too much soot. You can touch the pot and your hands are still clean, there is no dirt.”(Participant #4, Focus group 1.3)
3.1.2. Use with Local Cooking Practices and Views on Aesthetics
“When there was little time and I was in a hurry, then I could cook on the study stove and cook ugali on the three stones.”(Participant #6, Focus Group 1.5)
“When I want to cook bigger amounts of food then I use my three stones…also when I am in a hurry and I want to go faster, then I will use the three stones and this new stove.”(Participant Village W, Round 3)
“The reason why I didn’t use it (ICS) was because it needs tiny pieces of wood and I had big pieces of wood and I didn’t have time to split because I was busy. (The limited time) forced me to use the other one.”(Participant Village K, Round 5)
“…The rest of [the] family members have used the three stone because they don’t know how to use the new stove.”(Participant Village K, Round 2)
3.1.3. Functionality
“... There are times when it[Philips] stops functioning and ... there is no one who can repair it. (A broken part) could force me to use three stone until it is repaired.”(Participant #2, Focus group 2.1)
3.1.4. Fuel Issues
“These stoves have really helped us in terms of fuel consumption … we have a problem getting fuel in our area, the fact that they use less fuel has really helped us.”(Participant #1, Focus group 1.4)
“If you have dry fuel then you don’t have any problem, but if you have wet fuel then there may be a problem and you may think they (the ICS) are slow.”(Participant #7, Focus group 1.4)
3.1.5. Health
“I have seen a great change with them (ICS) because when we were using the old ones we used to get sick most often for example flu, headache but nowadays I see they [respiratory symptoms] are reduced … it is of great help to our health.”(Participant #1, Focus group 1.4)
“…Our stoves were interfering with our lives. There was a lot of smoke. Sometimes you cough, chest pains, running nose when cooking until you look like one who is crying. But since you brought them (ICS) there is no smoke. That’s what I am experiencing.”(Participant #3, Focus group 1.5)
“…Children like sitting next to us when we are cooking and within a short time you hear them cry ‘Mother the smoke is choking me’ but nowadays you just cook and the kids just sing next to you and tell stories so we have found a great change.”(Participant #1, Focus group 1.4)
“The only thing I fear with it (Prakti) is just the pipe that removes smoke out of the house. You see it gets very hot. I have been thinking that something could have been put around it to cover it... the child can touch it and get burnt.”(Participant Village W, Round 3)
3.1.6. Suggested Stove Improvements
Ecochula |
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Ecozoom |
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Envirofit |
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Philips |
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Prakti |
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Rocket TECA |
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3.2. Stove-Specific Findings
3.2.1. Philips (Fan Stove Powered by a Solar Panel)
“I also like Philips stove because it is faster and consumes less fuel and once you have charged it with the solar panel then the food just gets cooked within a very short time.”(Participant #4, Focus Group 1.2)
“There isn’t anything hard. Once I have put in the small pieces of fuel, it just lights very fast …I just strike the match box and light the pieces of paper and then I switch on the power button and the fire just burns.”(Participant Village W, Round 3)
“You feed it from the top. So when you feed it, it sometimes burns your fingers.”( Participant Village W, Round 1)
3.2.2. Rocket TECA (Traditional Clay Rocket Stove with Fan Powered by Internal Thermo-Electric Generator)
“I do not see anything hard about cooking ugali there because if you place a pot there or a wok it does not slide; it is just stable.”(Participant Village W, Round 5)
“The materials that are used to make the stove really retain fire and heat. You can cook and especially if you were using hard wood, then you will find that when you put something in afterwards, the heat in the stove will keep on warming the food.”(Participant Village K, Round 5)
“This rocket is good, it retains heat and when it has the machine [TECA fan insert] then it is better and you don’t even blow the fire you just adjust …even that pot rest is good because if you put a pot there it fits well.”(Participant #1, Focus Group 2.5)
“The hard thing is the way it is deep. After the fire wood has burned to the end, you must push in the firewood to the end and you must remove the remaining ash in order to continue cooking.”(Participant Village K, Round 4)
3.2.3. Envirofit (Metal Rocket Stove)
“This Envirofit is good for me because I put firewood [in the stove] and that stand holds for me the fuel and it burns so well …it cooks faster and I can carry it and cook with it in the compound or in the other house …so its work is easy for me.”(Participant #1, Focus group 2.5)
“You know for it to light quickly is not very easy. When there is a lot of wind it is hard to cook on the stove because the mouth is big and so the wind blows the fire out such that the fire does not burn in one direction...”(Participant Village W, Round 3)
“When you use a bigger pot then it is going to force you to support it thoroughly while you are cooking. You know if you do not give it support then it is not stable. So you have to hold it with your hands while you are cooking.”(Participant Village K, Round 3)
3.2.4. Ecozoom (Metal Rocket Stove)
“... It is a stove that you can cook with anywhere. That is number one. Secondly, it is a stove that cooks clean and well-cooked food. There is no ash that goes to your food.”(Participant Village W, Round 3)
“Its height is okay. It is good; you can even cook while sitting on a stool. It is very comfortable. You just sit and cook with ease. Its height is very smart.”(Participant Village K, Round 3)
“It is well designed and it is better than the other one because it has something where the fuel is placed. It is also of good length, its color is also unique [blue], and the pot also fits there well. It also has handles which can be used to hold it.”(Participant Village K, Round 3)
“I do not cook ugali on it because when you put the wok in it, it just goes round (sliding) meaning it is not stable.”(Participant Village K, Round 1)
3.2.5. Prakti (Double Pot Rocket with Chimney)
“So you see I can cook two things at the same time. That is the good thing about this stove. You can cook on one side and you put some light food that cooks faster on the other side and it will just cook.”(Participant Village W, Round 1)
“The only difficulty that I have experienced is when the fire has lit for long and you want to add the wood you will find that (the combustion chamber) is already full … you cannot remove the ash because when you remove it pours on the floor...”(Participant Village W, Round 2)
“What makes it hard is that it requires a small pot. It does not allow for a big one like this one. If you use a big one, it will force you to take some iron sheet to cover the other side (burner).”(Participant Village K, Round 1)
“I can only see the smoke when I remove the pot from the other pot rest. That is when I can see smoke; otherwise there is no smoke at all. When I put another pot on the other pot rest then the smoke just passes through the pipe.”(Participant Village W, Round 2)
3.2.6. Ecochula (Fan Stove Powered by a Solar Panel)
“Using it is easy because the space it takes is small and whenever there is problem— like recently we had floods and the house was full— I could carry it and cook in a raised place. I am impressed about that.”(Participant Village K, Round 4)
“The reason why it takes that long is because I have to pull it out and add some firewood. When you do that, the speed in which the food was cooking reduces”(Participant Village K, Round 4)
“When you switch the fan to the highest level you will find that it spreads the fire unevenly. The fire does not go in one direction.”(Participant Village W, Round 5)
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Share and Cite
Loo, J.D.; Hyseni, L.; Ouda, R.; Koske, S.; Nyagol, R.; Sadumah, I.; Bashin, M.; Sage, M.; Bruce, N.; Pilishvili, T.; et al. User Perspectives of Characteristics of Improved Cookstoves from a Field Evaluation in Western Kenya. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2016, 13, 167. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13020167
Loo JD, Hyseni L, Ouda R, Koske S, Nyagol R, Sadumah I, Bashin M, Sage M, Bruce N, Pilishvili T, et al. User Perspectives of Characteristics of Improved Cookstoves from a Field Evaluation in Western Kenya. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2016; 13(2):167. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13020167
Chicago/Turabian StyleLoo, Jennifer D., Lirije Hyseni, Rosebel Ouda, Selline Koske, Ronald Nyagol, Ibrahim Sadumah, Michelle Bashin, Mike Sage, Nigel Bruce, Tamara Pilishvili, and et al. 2016. "User Perspectives of Characteristics of Improved Cookstoves from a Field Evaluation in Western Kenya" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 13, no. 2: 167. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13020167
APA StyleLoo, J. D., Hyseni, L., Ouda, R., Koske, S., Nyagol, R., Sadumah, I., Bashin, M., Sage, M., Bruce, N., Pilishvili, T., & Stanistreet, D. (2016). User Perspectives of Characteristics of Improved Cookstoves from a Field Evaluation in Western Kenya. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13(2), 167. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13020167