Putting the Cook Before the Stove: a User-Centred Approach to Understanding Household Energy Decision-Making

The study uses a qualitative generative research methodology in four villages of Haryana State to understand why traditional biomass stoves (chulhas) persist despite health and environmental risks. Findings reveal that users value the ability to regulate heat by combining fuelwood and cow dung, the specific taste of food cooked with biomass, and the low cost of self-made clay stoves. While users desire reduced smoke and fuel savings, advanced stoves approved by the National Biomass Cookstove Initiative (NBCI) often fail to meet practical needs, such as the ability to bake roti or use dung. The authors argue that technical efficiency standards must be balanced with real-world usability to ensure the adoption of cleaner cooking technologies.

• Households in Haryana State rely on a strategic combination of fuelwood and cow dung cakes to regulate cooking temperatures; fuelwood is used for high-heat tasks like boiling water, while cow dung is used for slower simmering.
• The traditional clay chulha is highly valued because it is free to produce, easy to maintain, and aesthetically pleasing to the women who build them.
• Cultural preferences, specifically the taste of food and the specific method of baking roti (which requires an open flame), act as significant barriers to the adoption of LPG and advanced stoves.
• While users express a desire for reduced smoke and fuel savings, they are deterred by the perceived risks of metal stoves (burns) and electric stoves (fear/lack of familiarity).
• Rural households demonstrate a capacity to pay for improved stoves (suggesting a range of 100 to 250 rupees) and can access financing through local lenders for larger assets like buffalo.
• Advanced stoves approved under the National Biomass Cookstove Initiative (NBCI), such as the Oorja and Philips models, may fail in this context because they cannot burn dung, cannot be used to bake roti, and require electrical charging.
• The study concludes that technical efficiency and emission standards alone are insufficient for success; the NBCI should include 'usability' parameters to ensure stoves meet actual user needs.

APA

Lambe, F., & Atteridge, A. (2012). Putting the Cook Before the Stove: a User-Centred Approach to Understanding Household Energy Decision-Making. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Atmospheric/sei-wp-2012-03-cookstoves.pdf

Chicago

Lambe, Fiona, and Aaron Atteridge. Putting the Cook Before the Stove: a User-Centred Approach to Understanding Household Energy Decision-Making. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2012. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Atmospheric/sei-wp-2012-03-cookstoves.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lambe |first1=Fiona |last2=Atteridge |first2=Aaron |title=Putting the Cook Before the Stove: a User-Centred Approach to Understanding Household Energy Decision-Making |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=May 2012 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Atmospheric/sei-wp-2012-03-cookstoves.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lambe2012putting, author = {Lambe, Fiona and Atteridge, Aaron}, title = {{Putting the Cook Before the Stove: a User-Centred Approach to Understanding Household Energy Decision-Making}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2012}, month = may, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Atmospheric/sei-wp-2012-03-cookstoves.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }