Guatemala abstract of the day (Stoves)

From a paper by Christopher Bielecki & Gary Wingenbach. The title is "Rethinking improved cookstove diffusion programs: A case study of social perceptions and cooking choices in rural Guatemala" (Energy Policy, November 2013). 

Promoters of improved cookstoves (ICSs) argue they provide the “triple benefits” of improving health outcomes, preserving local ecosystems, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The majority of ICS research reveals a strong pro-diffusion bias toward proving these benefits. Few studies have examined ICSs from the adopters' point-of-view. The purpose of this case study was to describe how culture and social perceptions affect the adoption and use of ICSs. Results showed that stoves in this rural Guatemalan community had several layers of practical importance beyond cooking food. Most prominently, household members valued stoves as heat and light sources, and as a social gathering point for families. Most ICS models have been purposely designed in controlled conditions to deliver maximum heating efficiency at the lowest production cost. However, this case study revealed that the fuel-efficient designs sacrificed important functional, social, and cultural needs. Efforts to increase adoption rates of ICSs will be more successful if the macro-level “triple benefits” paradigm is adapted to include functional consumer-centric benefits beyond heating food, such as providing heat and ambient light. Adoption programs should account for the cultural and social needs of users, such as recognizing that stoves often serve as a gathering point for families.

Here there is a previous post on ICSs in Senegal and Guatemala.  

Stoves

Today more than 2.7 billion people rely on biomass as their primary cooking fuel, with profound implications for the environment and people’s well-being. Wood provision is often time-consuming and the emitted smoke has severe health effects – both burdens that afflict women in particular. The dissemination of Improved Cooking Stoves (ICS) is frequently considered an effective remedy for these problems. This paper evaluates the take-up of ICS and their impacts through a randomized controlled trial in rural Senegal. Although distributed for free, the ICS are used by almost 100 % of households. Furthermore, we find substantial effects on firewood consumption, eye infections, and respiratory disease symptoms. These findings substantiate the increasing efforts of the international community to improve access to improved cooking stoves and call for a more direct promotion of these stoves.

From the new paper "A Recipe for Success? Randomized Free Distribution of Improved Cooking Stoves in Senegal" by Bensch and Peters (March 2012).  

And this data is surprising (almost incredible):

Exposure to resulting smoke leads to acute respiratory illness, and cancers, particularly among women cooks, and their infant children near them. Resulting annual mortality estimate is almost 2 million deaths, higher than that from malaria or tuberculosis.

In Guatemala several NOGs, have been working on this. I have not seen studies on the level of usage, or effectiveness. Nevertheless I have heard that there are several informal practices that make it difficult the adoption of new stoves. One example: traditional stoves generate heat, and families gather around the stove at night. The kitchen is a focal point. New stoves do not generate as much heat. Adoption depends on gradual behavioral changes.