Cambodian households start to get cooking

Cambodian households are trying out some of the most advanced biomass cooking stoves to arrive in the country. As part of a range of market tests, SNV in Cambodia recently started a six-week Consumer Acceptability and Willingness-to-pay Study. The aim is to ensure that people will actually purchase and use advanced clean cooking stoves rather than continuing with wood and charcoal fires, along with the associated health and environmental hazards.

There are now sixteen households in Cambodia testing the Philips HD4012 gasifier (supplied via partner African Clean Energy); and in collaboration with New York-based technology partner BioLite LLC, SNV teams in both Cambodia and Laos also kicked off Social Acceptability Assessments this May for the BioLite HomeStove.

The HomeStove is a force draft biomass cookstove that converts waste heat from the fire into usable electricity, powering an internal fan for improved combustion and sending surplus electricity to a USB port to charge devices such as mobile phones and LED lights. The users are well aware of their important role as advisers to the SNV Advanced Clean Cooking Solutions (ACCS) teams, who check in with them regularly. The study design includes baseline, mid-term and end-line surveys, as well as kitchen performance tests to determine the actual fuel savings of the stove when used under real-life conditions.

The project team also uses novel devices – stove use monitoring sensors, or 'SUMS' – to check the user's reports with actual usage data. This helps generate powerful insights into the stove's actual acceptance in the participating households. Households also receive a supply of three renewable biomass fuels to assess their performance in combination with the Philips gasifier, and to investigate households' interest in purchasing such fuels in the future. Moreover, project partner Sustainable Green Fuel Enterprise (SGFE), which produces one type of biomass fuel briquette, was recently presented with a prestigious Ashden Award in London.

The household trials will run until mid June to July.