Opening the black pot

This policy brief by the Stockholm Environment Institute describes a small-scale study in peri-urban Kenya using service design, behavioural insights, and social-ecological systems thinking to evaluate the adoption of the Mimi Moto advanced biomass pellet cookstove. The study identifies distinct user archetypes and highlights systemic gaps in the cookstove value chain, particularly regarding fuel availability and after-sales support.

• The study identified two primary user archetypes for the Mimi Moto stove: 'money savers' and 'convenience seekers'. Money savers are driven by the need for clarity on financial benefits and often experiment with the stove to optimize fuel consumption and minimize waste. Convenience seekers view the stove as a low-risk investment to make life easier, valuing its speed, portability, and cleanliness.
• Inconsistent fuel availability significantly negatively impacted both user archetypes, leading to a drop in stove usage and eroded trust in the cooking system. For money savers, usage dropped significantly during weeks 8–10 when fuel availability was most unstable; convenience seekers also reported a sharp drop in satisfaction and a steady decrease in usage as fuel availability declined.
• Quantitative data from Stove-Use Monitors (SUMS) revealed that convenience seekers generally had higher Mimi Moto usage throughout the user journey compared to money savers. Among money savers, the use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) declined over the study period as they shifted reliance to the Mimi Moto stove.
• Mapping of the Kenyan cookstove sector shows that most stakeholders focus on the early stages of the user journey, such as awareness and on-boarding. There is a critical lack of stakeholder presence during the 'start-up' and 'using' phases, which is where users most frequently encounter 'pain points'.
• The study suggests that resource allocation should be tailored to user archetypes: money savers require more after-sales support, whereas efforts for convenience seekers should focus on improving the fuel purchase and supply chain.
• To scale advanced gasifier cookstoves in Kenya, the biomass pellet fuel supply infrastructure must be stabilized. The authors suggest this could be achieved through upstream or consumer-direct subsidies for biomass pellet fuels to support research and development.

APA

Lambe, F., & Ran, Y. (2020). Opening the black pot. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/200613a-davis-ran-ccac-pb-2005a.pdf

Chicago

Lambe, Fiona, and Ylva Ran. Opening the black pot. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2020. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/200613a-davis-ran-ccac-pb-2005a.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lambe |first1=Fiona |last2=Ran |first2=Ylva |title=Opening the black pot |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=June 2020 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/200613a-davis-ran-ccac-pb-2005a.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lambe2020opening, author = {Lambe, Fiona and Ran, Ylva}, title = {{Opening the black pot}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2020}, month = jun, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/200613a-davis-ran-ccac-pb-2005a.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }