Understanding Consumer Preference and Willingness to Pay for Improved Cookstoves in Bangladesh

Figures & data

Fig. 1 Trial stoves, clockwise from top left: Eco Chula, Prakti, Envirofit, EcoZoom, and Greenway.

Table 1. Summary of methods

Method	TIPs	KPT	SUMS
Sample size	120 (24 per stove type); three households per village using one of five stove types, across eight villages	117 study households (21–23 per stove type)	Placement on all ICSs, and half of the traditional stoves in ICS homes
Control	Not applicable	23 homes using traditional stoves	Placement on all traditional stoves in KPT control homes
Study interval	Baseline 3 day 21 day	Three 24-hour monitoring intervals over 3 days	Data recorded for 8–10 days starting with the KPT

Note. TIPs = Trials of Improved Practices; KPT = kitchen performance test; SUMS = stove use monitoring sensors; ICS = improved cookstove.

Fig. 2 One family's fuel reserves of sticks (top), jute, and dungsticks (right).

Table 2. Common problems with ICSs and user-proposed solutions

Problem	Solutions suggested by users
Not stable while stirring	Make the stove stable
Ash builds up quickly	Add ash tray
Cannot cook in second pot because of lack of heat	Increase heat in the second pot by placing fuel chamber between first and second pot
Cannot cook large quantities of food like rice and takes longer to cook larger quantities	Larger sizes of stoves should be available
Fuel chamber small so wood fall off the opening and charred wood and embers fall out	Fuel chamber should be larger*
Cannot use large wood pieces/cannot chop wood pieces, cannot effortlessly feed wood.	Fuel chamber should be larger*
Flame does not spread	Flame should reach vessel and be visible*

Note. ICS = improved cookstove. *These recommended solutions are listed with a strikethrough mark because the modification would adversely affect stove performance.

Fig. 3 Changes in preference for each individual stove type over ICS. For example, 11 out of 20 participants trialing the Envirofit stove preferred that over their traditional stove at 3 days, but that dropped to 6/20 at 3 weeks.

Table 3. Average (mean) number of stove uses per day for all stoves (traditional and ICS)

Stove group	During KPT	After KPT
Control group (traditional stove only)	2.8	1.4
EcoZoom group (EcoZoom stove use plus all traditional stoves)	4.8	2.1
Prakti group (Prakti stove use plus all traditional stoves)	4.2	1.7
Eco Chula group (Eco Chula stove use plus all traditional stoves)	4.8	2.2
Envirofit Z3000 group (Envirofit Z3000 stove use plus all traditional stoves)	3.8	1.6
Greenway Smart group (Greenway Smart stove use plus all traditional stoves)	4.4	1.9

Note. ICS = improved cookstove; KPT = kitchen performance test.

Table 4. Proportion of all recorded cooking events performed by the ICS (by stove type)

	Percentage of cooking event performed on ICS
Stove type	During KPT	After KPT
EcoZoom	65	34
Prakti	72	43
Eco Chula	73	46
Envirofit Z3000	60	29
Greenway Smart	69	30

Note. ICS = improved cookstove; KPT = kitchen performance test.