Delivery Mechanism for Energy Efficient Cookstoves: A Case Study from Rural India

The domestic sector in India is the largest consumer of traditional sources of energy and accounts for 85 per cent of households in the rural areas, using fuelwood as an important source of energy for cooking and kerosene for lighting applications. However, the penetration of commercial fuels for cooking in rural areas continues to be low, with 11.5 per cent of rural households using kerosene and 6.5 per cent using LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) for cooking.[1] Hence, rural households commonly use traditional biomass fuels in traditional cookstoves (TCs), which are not only inefficient but also have an adverse effect on the health of people, especially women and children, who are largely exposed to the smoke emitted while burning such fuels. In order to reduce the ill effects caused by the use of low-efficiency (<12%) of TCs, introduction of improved forced draft biomass cookstoves will enhance cooking device efficiency and also improve the indoor kitchen environment. This article focuses on the adaptation process and service delivery mechanism for improved biomass cookstove. It also concentrates on the approach undertaken for leveraging technology and promotes the use of biomass and source energy in a sustainable manner.