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USAID and the Berkeley Air Monitoring Group recently finished a report utilizing Controlled Cooking Test (CCT) protocols to assess the acceptiblity and usability of the new generation of biomass cook stoves in refugee and Internally Displaced Person (IDP) environments.
The five stoves tested in the UNHCR's Dadaab, Kenya refugee settlement in northeastern Kenya were:
- Envirofit G-3300 Stove
- StoveTec Wood Stove (26cm)
- Philips Natural Draft Stove
- Save80 Stove
- Vesto - The Variable Energy Stove
Fuel Efficiency
This table demonstrates the fuel efficiency of the five tested stove in comparision to the open fire.
The StoveTec stove used only 46% as much fuel as the open fire per kilogram of food prepared. The StoveTec stoves presents a 54% improvement over the open fire.
The study reports that, "The results of the controlled cooking tests are strikingly consistent and show strong evidence that the stoves save fuel: of the 15 comparisons among stoves and the open fire, 13 of them are statistically significant. The similarity of the fuel use, cooking time, and burning rate patterns across all 18 cooks provides strong evidence that the differences in performance seen in this study are due to intrinsic differences among the stoves."
End User Acceptance
The paper reports that, "about three quarters of the cooks thought the Envirofit and StoveTec stoves would be an improvement over the stove they currently use in their own homes – a simple metal and clay Maendeleo stove, a simple brick rocket stove, or an open fire. Significantly, more than half thought that the other three stoves would not offer significant advantage, suggesting that they would not be motivated to adopt these new technologies without further incentives or training."
The report states that, "The focus group results underscored that the women preferred the StoveTec stove, with the Envirofit model a close second, because these stoves were stable, portable, comfortable, and fuel-efficient. The fact that these stoves are low to the ground was viewed as a plus, making them feel safer and allowing the women to sit while cooking."
Click here for the full report (PDF).
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