Socio-cultural acceptability of improved cook stoves (ICS) in rural Malawi, 2012.
Concern Universal
Concern Universal commissioned this study to assess the social cultural acceptability of improved cook stoves (ICS) in rural Malawian villages. The aim of the study is to learn lessons about efficiency, effectiveness, acceptance and usage of ICS in rural Malawi. The results aim to inform policy for project and programme design and implementation. ICS have faced a revival in recent years, after most programmes in the 1980s failed. Despite these earlier failures evidence suggests that certain stoves that have improved combustion properties might yield various health, environmental, economic and social benefits.
Given that there has been little research on the social-cultural issues surrounding cooking, the study used an inductive approach to allow the flexibility to add new and relevant questions throughout data gathering. Household data were collected in five villages in Mulanje, Dedza, and Balaka. Group interviews were conducted in five villages in the same districts but not always in the same villages. The villages were selected to cover different stove designs promoted by different organisations, and so provide a basis for comparison users perceptions and dissemination approaches.
