Page 3 - Selecting the Appropriate Improved Cooking Technology: What Matters?
P. 3
Policy Brief
Cooking Practice Variations Influence on Technology
Type of food cooked Differs from state to state. The staple meals cooked in Indian villages include roti (flat The type of food determines the fire power of the
Location of cooking
Quantity of food cooked bread), rice, bati (dough balls), dal (lentil), and vegetable curry. Some users may prefer stove, the width of the burner amount of fuel that
Fuel feeding habit
Secondary uses of the stove to use improved cookstoves just for the preparation of snacks and tea. can be fed in a single batch.
Size of cooking pot
Posture while cooking Cooking may be done at one location throughout the year, or at multiple locations. For If cooking occurs in multiple locations, portability
instance, in northern India, cooking is done indoors in summer and rainy months and of the stove may be required.
outdoors in winter months.
The quantity of food cooked largely depends on the household size. Households with The size of the stove, fire power of the stove, and
joint families may cook larger portions of food. Community cooking is seldom practiced number of ports are determined by this factor.
in Indian homes.
The dimensions of the fuel used may vary from large logs of wood to small pieces of Cookstoves may be top-loading or front loading,
crop residue. Fuel feeding in the stove may occur at frequent intervals, or in a batch in and batch-fed or continuous-fed, depending on
the beginning of the cooking operation. the fuel feeding habit.
A cookstove may also be used for providing warmth to the house (space-conditioning) Cookstoves used for space conditioning must have
in winter months. It may be used for boiling bath water in colder climes. the option to switch to lower fire power than when
used for cooking.
This parameter may be linked to the quantity of food cooked. In some villages, large Width of the burner and diameter of the pan
cauldrons may be used for cooking certain meals, and much smaller cooking pots for support are determined by the size of the cooking
other meals. pot.
While most rural women prefer to cook in the crouching or sitting position, sometimes, The height and portability of the stove are decided
women may cook food while standing. Even while seated, the height of the user from by the posture of the cook.
the ground may vary.
There are three approaches to select the appropriate cooking technology. The first fuel usage of 500 sample households that purchased
approach involves inductive selection of an improved cookstove model based on an improved cookstove under the DFID-TERI improved
observation of the local practices of the region. The SPT-0610 model of forced-draft cookstoves project showed that the shift in the fuel mix
cookstoves was developed by TERI based on observation of cooking practices in before and after purchase of an improved cookstove is
Jagdishpur, Uttar Pradesh. The second approach involves dissemination of multiple negligible (see Figure 1, based on data collected from
cookstove models and deductively selecting the model that exhibits the highest beneficiary households of TERI-DFID project). Improved
adoption rate. TERI has disseminated more than 50,000 improved cookstoves across cookstoves are generally optimized for a particular type of
India with support from DFID using this approach. The third approach involves fuel, even while some models permit the use of multiple
participatory evolution of cookstove technology based on periodic feedback obtained fuels in the cookstove at the same time. Improved
from end users.The model SPF-0143 was developed by progressively making changes
to SPT-0610 based on end-user feedback.
POLICY MESSAGE Per cent 63
70
Large-scale improved cookstove programmes must allow multiple technologies to
be tried and tested at a site before selecting a cookstove model that is compatible 60 58
with the local cooking practices. Deductive selection of an improved cookstove
technology may be the most practical approach to do so. 50
Fuel Used 40
Rural Indian households use a variety of solid fuels 30
to meet their cooking needs, including fuelwood, 30
dung-cakes, crop residue, charcoal, and coal.9
Low-income rural households generally use multiple 22
fuels at the same time.10 An analysis of the self-reported 20 15
9 Viswanathan, Brinda, and K S Kavi Kumar. 2005. “Cooking fuel use patterns in India: 1983– 12
2000.” Energy Policy 33.8: 1021–1036. 10
10 Farsi, Mehdi, Massimo Filippini, and Shonali Pachauri. 2007. “Fuel choices in urban Indian 0 Crop residue Dung cakes
households.” Environment and Development Economics 12.06: 757–774. Fuelwood
Before ICS purchase After ICS purchase
Figure 1: Comparison of solid fuel mix (%) in 500 households before and after
purchase of an improved cookstove (ICS)
MAY 2015 3
Cooking Practice Variations Influence on Technology
Type of food cooked Differs from state to state. The staple meals cooked in Indian villages include roti (flat The type of food determines the fire power of the
Location of cooking
Quantity of food cooked bread), rice, bati (dough balls), dal (lentil), and vegetable curry. Some users may prefer stove, the width of the burner amount of fuel that
Fuel feeding habit
Secondary uses of the stove to use improved cookstoves just for the preparation of snacks and tea. can be fed in a single batch.
Size of cooking pot
Posture while cooking Cooking may be done at one location throughout the year, or at multiple locations. For If cooking occurs in multiple locations, portability
instance, in northern India, cooking is done indoors in summer and rainy months and of the stove may be required.
outdoors in winter months.
The quantity of food cooked largely depends on the household size. Households with The size of the stove, fire power of the stove, and
joint families may cook larger portions of food. Community cooking is seldom practiced number of ports are determined by this factor.
in Indian homes.
The dimensions of the fuel used may vary from large logs of wood to small pieces of Cookstoves may be top-loading or front loading,
crop residue. Fuel feeding in the stove may occur at frequent intervals, or in a batch in and batch-fed or continuous-fed, depending on
the beginning of the cooking operation. the fuel feeding habit.
A cookstove may also be used for providing warmth to the house (space-conditioning) Cookstoves used for space conditioning must have
in winter months. It may be used for boiling bath water in colder climes. the option to switch to lower fire power than when
used for cooking.
This parameter may be linked to the quantity of food cooked. In some villages, large Width of the burner and diameter of the pan
cauldrons may be used for cooking certain meals, and much smaller cooking pots for support are determined by the size of the cooking
other meals. pot.
While most rural women prefer to cook in the crouching or sitting position, sometimes, The height and portability of the stove are decided
women may cook food while standing. Even while seated, the height of the user from by the posture of the cook.
the ground may vary.
There are three approaches to select the appropriate cooking technology. The first fuel usage of 500 sample households that purchased
approach involves inductive selection of an improved cookstove model based on an improved cookstove under the DFID-TERI improved
observation of the local practices of the region. The SPT-0610 model of forced-draft cookstoves project showed that the shift in the fuel mix
cookstoves was developed by TERI based on observation of cooking practices in before and after purchase of an improved cookstove is
Jagdishpur, Uttar Pradesh. The second approach involves dissemination of multiple negligible (see Figure 1, based on data collected from
cookstove models and deductively selecting the model that exhibits the highest beneficiary households of TERI-DFID project). Improved
adoption rate. TERI has disseminated more than 50,000 improved cookstoves across cookstoves are generally optimized for a particular type of
India with support from DFID using this approach. The third approach involves fuel, even while some models permit the use of multiple
participatory evolution of cookstove technology based on periodic feedback obtained fuels in the cookstove at the same time. Improved
from end users.The model SPF-0143 was developed by progressively making changes
to SPT-0610 based on end-user feedback.
POLICY MESSAGE Per cent 63
70
Large-scale improved cookstove programmes must allow multiple technologies to
be tried and tested at a site before selecting a cookstove model that is compatible 60 58
with the local cooking practices. Deductive selection of an improved cookstove
technology may be the most practical approach to do so. 50
Fuel Used 40
Rural Indian households use a variety of solid fuels 30
to meet their cooking needs, including fuelwood, 30
dung-cakes, crop residue, charcoal, and coal.9
Low-income rural households generally use multiple 22
fuels at the same time.10 An analysis of the self-reported 20 15
9 Viswanathan, Brinda, and K S Kavi Kumar. 2005. “Cooking fuel use patterns in India: 1983– 12
2000.” Energy Policy 33.8: 1021–1036. 10
10 Farsi, Mehdi, Massimo Filippini, and Shonali Pachauri. 2007. “Fuel choices in urban Indian 0 Crop residue Dung cakes
households.” Environment and Development Economics 12.06: 757–774. Fuelwood
Before ICS purchase After ICS purchase
Figure 1: Comparison of solid fuel mix (%) in 500 households before and after
purchase of an improved cookstove (ICS)
MAY 2015 3
