Exploring the Intersection of eCooking, Health, and Economic Development: Women’s perspective

Kenya faces a significant challenge when it comes to of clean cooking. A startling 81% of the population still relies on polluting fuels for cooking, such as firewood (65%), charcoal (10%), and kerosene (6%)​ (Government of Kenya, 2019)​, presenting several kinds of associated development challenges. Biomass fuels significantly contribute to Household Air Pollution (HAP) and are a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, accounting for about 26.5% of Kenya's total emissions. The Ministry of Health linked indoor air pollution to 21,500 premature deaths per year ​ (Government of Kenya, 2019)​.

Women and girls are disproportionately affected, with increased exposure to cooking smoke and the burden of fuel collection, resulting in lost educational and economic possibilities. The government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have strongly endorsed Improved Cookstoves (ICS) as a solution to the clean cooking dilemma. However, gaining long-term acceptance has been difficult, since many users refuse the cookstoves shortly…