Why the market alone cannot solve the clean cookstove gap
Could it be that the emphasis on finding market-based solutions to energy poverty alleviation and the large-scale deployment of improved cookstoves is just not practical?
“Probably,” say a group of researchers investigating the pressures placed on grass-roots NGOs to adopt market-based approaches to solving household energy and health issues in the developing world.
This is not to say that the market-based approaches cannot be effective under specific conditions, say the researchers, citing positive outcomes in China and Kenya.
Bailis et al 2009 Arresting the Killer in the Kitchen, whose research is based on a case study in Mexico, is an important read for all those trying to apply traditional market principles to the deployment of improved stoves.
In its conclusion, the authors affirm that, through their research, they have demonstrated that extended state and/or donor support has played a vital role in the success of past interventions and question the idea that it be reduced or removed.
Indeed, they add, we caution that the drive for commercialization carries risks for stove producers and their potential beneficiaries that appear to be downplayed by the proponents of commercialization.
J. Kim Chaix, CEO & Founder, Charcoal Project
http://www.charcoalproject.org
