From improved stoves to electric cooking

For nearly two decades, the Energising Development (EnDev) programme has been working with partners and governments to expand energy access across countries in Asia and Africa. As the programme has come to a close, it is an opportunity to look back on the journey that took us from improved biomass stoves to the cusp of electric cooking—and everything in between.

 In Asia, around 1.1 billion people still depend on wood, charcoal, and other traditional fuels for cooking, with profound consequences for their health, environment, and economic prospects. Against this backdrop, EnDev has contributed to expanding access to cleaner cooking solutions. Now, as the programme draws to a close, its impact proves far greater than any count of stoves installed or households reached.

In Laos and Cambodia, EnDev helped lay the foundations for functioning, clean, and more efficient cooking markets, strengthened partnerships with governments and the private sector, and opened new pathways towards cleaner cooking practices.

The result has been a shift that extends beyond technology: a gradual shift in how households cook, how clean cooking markets function, and how governments can better integrate clean cooking into national energy and climate development priorities.

In Laos, the programme first focused on improving the efficiency of traditional methods and cookstoves. For many households, cooking relied heavily on charcoal and firewood collected from nearby forests. Traditional stoves were inefficient, produced large amounts of smoke, and required significant time and labour to gather fuel.

Improved biomass stoves offered an important first step.

 “These stoves reduced fuel consumption by around 30 to 40%,” explains Baburam Paudel, SNV’s Energy Sector Lead in Laos, who has been closely involved in the programme. “That meant less time collecting firewood, less smoke in the kitchen, and better cooking efficiency.”

More than one million improved cookstoves have now been delivered through the private sector in Laos, supported by networks of local producers, distributors, and service providers.

But the goal was never simply to distribute stoves. Instead, the programme worked to build a sustainable market.

Three key elements were put in place to support market development. These included strengthening supply chains for stove production and distribution, creating demand through consumer awareness, and working with government partners to develop an enabling environment for the sector.

The introduction of results-based financing during EnDev proved particularly critical. By rewarding companies based on verified sales, it incentivised private-sector participation and accelerated market growth.

As the market grew, so did opportunities for local businesses and entrepreneurs.

Initially, stove production was physically demanding and required heavy manual labour, limiting women’s participation. As production processes became increasingly mechanised and more skills-based, this began to change. “We gradually introduced machines into the production process,” says Paudel. “Once the work became less physically demanding, more women were able to participate.”

Training and collaboration with the Lao Women’s Union helped many women to enter the sector as producers, distributors, and entrepreneurs, as they realised it is not a man-only business. This shift not only expanded the workforce but also created new income opportunities for rural households.

Aside from fuel-efficient cooking, the ultimate goal was clean cooking by replacing firewood and charcoal with modern cooking fuels like gas and electricity. Technology alone cannot change cooking habits. Across both Laos and Cambodia, behaviour change was a central component of the programme to change cooking fuels.

Many households initially questioned whether food would taste the same when cooked with different fuels or technologies. To address this, teams organised cooking demonstrations and blind taste tests, allowing participants to sample food prepared with different fuels without knowing which was which. “In many cases, people were surprised to discover they couldn’t tell the difference,” Paudel explains.

In Laos, for instance, traditional dishes such as sticky rice were also tested on electric cooking appliances. A dedicated cookbook was developed to show how local recipes could be prepared using electric stoves.

Digital tools were introduced to help consumers compare products, prices, and warranties, making it easier for households to make informed decisions.

Together, these efforts helped households move beyond access to actively choosing cleaner cooking solutions that fit their needs and preferences.

In Cambodia, EnDev also helped pioneer new approaches to accelerating the transition to cleaner cooking. One of the most successful examples is the Smoke-Free Villages initiative, which mobilises entire communities to reduce household air pollution and adopt cleaner cooking practices.

“The idea is to engage the whole community,” explains Bastiaan Teune, who managed the programme in Cambodia. “Village meetings introduce new cooking options, and people begin to see how these changes can affect their daily lives.”

The initiative has reached around 100,000 households in Cambodia, potentially supporting the clean cooking transition for nearly half a million people.

Through all this, collaboration has been a defining feature of the programme.

EnDev itself is a partnership supported by governments including Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, and implemented through cooperation between organisations such as SNV and GIZ. According to Teune, this collaborative model has been one of the programme’s greatest strengths.

“The programme has always been about partnerships,” he says. “It brought together donors, governments, private-sector actors, and development organisations around a shared goal.”

Strong monitoring and evaluation systems also ensured that results were closely tracked—not only by counting technologies distributed, but also by examining whether markets were responding and whether households were actually adopting clean stoves.

Millions of monitoring data points have been used to analyse the collective shift in cooking fuel, with estimates showing 75% of firewood use is replaced by LPG and electricity.

As markets mature and electricity generation expands, the clean cooking landscape in Laos is beginning to evolve. The country has abundant hydropower capacity and is often referred to as the “battery of Southeast Asia.” This shift has opened new opportunities for electric cooking.

Recognising this potential, SNV supported the Lao government in joining the Global Electric Cooking Coalition, a platform that connects countries with partners and donors interested in advancing electric cooking.

A national readiness assessment followed, examining whether the electricity infrastructure was reliable, whether electric cooking appliances were available in the market, and which policy or market gaps still needed to be addressed.

The assessment highlighted the need for a national strategy. With support from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), through the Modern Energy Cooking Services programme, SNV worked with government partners to develop this strategy and launch new programmes.

With acceptance of an eCooking project in the National Article 6 Pipeline, electric cooking initiatives and their potential to generate carbon finance are emerging as the next stage in the sector's development.

As EnDev concludes in Asia, the foundations it helped build continue to shape the future of clean cooking in the region.

Private-sector companies that began as programme partners now operate independently in the market. Government policies increasingly recognise clean cooking as part of broader priorities such as health, climate action, and economic development.

And communities that once relied entirely on traditional cooking methods are exploring new technologies.

For Paudel, the key lesson is clear: “Clean cooking should not be seen only as an energy issue. It is also about health, climate, employment, and clean air. When these connections become clear, many more organisations and stakeholders become interested in supporting the sector.”

The transition to clean cooking is far from complete. But through partnerships, market development, and locally led innovation, the EnDev programme has helped set lasting change in motion.

The transition to clean cooking remains a long-term journey. But through partnerships, market development, and locally led innovation, the EnDev programme has helped set in motion lasting change across Laos, Cambodia, and beyond.