Appropriate Technology for Household Energy Access: The Case of the Centrafricain Stove in the Logone Valley (Chad, Cameroon)

Abstract

The dissemination of improved stoves can play a key role in providing poor people with an adequate energy access in contexts where biomass is the only available energy source. Burning solid fuels through inefficient and smoky stoves results in a number of negative impacts on both the users’ health and budget, and the local environment. Thus, there is an urgent need for appropriate cooking technologies that use biomass in a more efficient, cleaner and easier way. This paper presents an experience in the Logone Valley (Chad, Cameroon) where models of improved stove were disseminated. The project was led by the Italian non-governmental organization ACRA—Cooperazione Rurale in Africa e America Latina (Rural Cooperation in Africa and Latin America). The activities focused on the reduction of wood consumption and the creation of income generating activities. Stove models to be promoted were chosen according to local constraints. A rigorous methodology was applied to assess the technical performance of different models that used various fuels, and were compared with traditional cooking systems. The Centrafricain stove was chosen because of the good performance in terms of fuel savings but also because of its adaptability to the local conditions. Sale rates and acceptability by the users were assessed through specific surveys addressed to the artisans trained in the stove production and to the households that adopted the improved model. The development of a self-sustainable market, subsidized by the project only in the start-up phase and the users’ satisfaction prove the validity and the appropriateness of the adopted approach in the introduction of a new cooking technology.