Piloting improved cookstoves in India
Jessica J Lewis1, Vasundhara Bhojvaid, Nina Brooks
1a Nicholas School of the Environment , Duke University , Durham , North Carolina , USA.
Journal of Health Communication
|April 4, 2015
Summary
Social marketing strategies significantly impact improved cookstove adoption. Personalized demonstrations and flexible pricing increased sales, while electric stoves were preferred over biomass options, highlighting the need for tailored approaches.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Behavioral Science
- Marketing Science
Background:
- Improved cookstoves offer environmental and health benefits but face low adoption rates.
- Solid fuel use for cooking has significant adverse impacts.
- Social marketing provides a framework to understand and influence household fuel choices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of different social marketing mix strategies on improved cookstove adoption in India.
- To identify key factors influencing household purchasing decisions for cookstoves.
- To inform scalable strategies for promoting cleaner cooking technologies.
Main Methods:
- Conducted pilot studies across three Indian states testing various combinations of promotion, product, price, and place.
- Utilized door-to-door demonstrations, information pamphlets, and product choice scenarios.
- Collected data on sales, household preferences, and perceived barriers.
Main Results:
- Cookstove sales varied widely (0% to 60%) depending on the marketing strategy employed.
- Personalized demonstrations combined with pamphlets proved effective for behavior change promotion.
- Households showed a strong preference for electric stoves over improved biomass options.
- Reduced cooking time was the most valued stove attribute; price was a significant barrier.
- Discounts, installment payments, and NGO involvement positively influenced adoption.
Conclusions:
- A tailored, multi-faceted social marketing approach is crucial for boosting improved cookstove adoption.
- Understanding household preferences, perceived value, and economic barriers is essential.
- Extensive testing of messages, pricing, and product types is recommended before large-scale implementation.
- A one-size-fits-all strategy is unlikely to be effective in promoting cleaner cookstoves.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:10Heat Engines
4.0K
A heat engine is a device used to extract heat from a source and then convert it into mechanical work used for various applications. For example, a steam engine on an old-style train can produce the work needed for driving the train.
Whenever we consider heat engines (and associated devices such as refrigerators and heat pumps), we do not use the standard sign convention for heat and work. For convenience, we assume that the symbols Qh, Qc, and W represent only the amounts of heat transferred...
Whenever we consider heat engines (and associated devices such as refrigerators and heat pumps), we do not use the standard sign convention for heat and work. For convenience, we assume that the symbols Qh, Qc, and W represent only the amounts of heat transferred...
4.0K
01:19Turnover Number and Catalytic Efficiency
22.4K
The turnover number of an enzyme is the maximum number of substrate molecules it can transform per unit time. Turnover numbers for most enzymes range from 1 to 1000 molecules per second. Catalase has the known highest turnover number, capable of converting up to 2.8×106 molecules of hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen per second. Lysozyme has the lowest known turnover number of half a molecule per second.
Chymotrypsin is a pancreatic enzyme that breaks down proteins during digestion....
Chymotrypsin is a pancreatic enzyme that breaks down proteins during digestion....
22.4K
01:20Internal Combustion Engine
3.3K
The internal combustion engine is a heat engine that uses the byproducts of combustion as the working fluid instead of using a heat transfer medium to transfer heat. The combustion is done in a way that produces high-pressure combustion products that can be expanded through a turbine or piston to create work. Internal combustion engines can again be categorized into three kinds: (1) spark ignition gasoline engines, most commonly used in automobiles, (2) compression ignition diesel engines that...
3.3K
01:25Biofuels
96
The microbial conversion of organic matter into biofuels holds potential as a renewable energy source. Among biofuel sources, microalgae are recognized as a highly efficient and adaptable feedstock for biodiesel production, owing to their rapid biomass accumulation, elevated lipid productivity, and capacity to proliferate in diverse aquatic systems, including freshwater, marine, and wastewater habitats. Unlike terrestrial crops, microalgae do not compete for land and can achieve significantly...
96
02:14Combustion Energy: A Measure of Stability in Alkanes and Cycloalkanes
8.4K
The low reactivity in alkanes can be attributed to the non-polar nature of C–C and C–H σ bonds. Alkanes, therefore, were initially termed as “paraffins,” derived from the Latin words: parum, meaning “too little,” and affinis, meaning “affinity.”
Alkanes undergo combustion in the presence of excess oxygen and high-temperature conditions to give carbon dioxide and water. A combustion reaction is the energy source in natural gas, liquified...
Alkanes undergo combustion in the presence of excess oxygen and high-temperature conditions to give carbon dioxide and water. A combustion reaction is the energy source in natural gas, liquified...
8.4K
01:19Mechanism of heat transfer
2.3K
Understanding heat transfer mechanisms is essential for understanding how our bodies maintain balance in different environmental conditions. When the environment is thermoneutral, the body is in a state of balance, neither using nor releasing energy to maintain its core temperature. However, when the environment is not thermoneutral, the body employs four heat transfer mechanisms to maintain homeostasis: conduction, convection, evaporation, and radiation. These mechanisms facilitate heat...
2.3K