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eCook and Gender in Tanzania
March 2019 Final Report
Main authors: K. Chepkurui, J. Leary, A. Minja, S. Sago , S. Batchelor
Associate authors: E. Sawe, E. Brown, M. Leach, N. Scott, J. Shuma
Innovate Project 132724
Implementing partners:
Funded by:
Research@gamos.org | PV-ecook.org
This research is funded by DfID/UK Aid and Gamos through the Innovate UK Energy Catalyst.
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Acknowledgement
It would not have been possible to obtain the findings presented in this report without the willing
participation of the choice modelling, cooking diaries and focus group discussion participants. In particular
the Ubungo ladies, whose willingness to experiment and share their experiences facilitated a rich learning
opportunity, for which we are very grateful. We are also grateful to the staff of TaTEDO, both those named
as authors and the supporting staff, who facilitated our work. We also thank TANGSEN (Tanzanian Gender
and Sustainable Energy Network), who offered invaluable advice to guide the authors of this report.
Finally, we thank the donors, UK Aid via Innovate UK for partial funding and the directors and shareholders
of Gamos who matched the funding for the benefit and public good of Tanzania.
Rights, permissions & disclaimer
This work is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Under the Creative Commons Attribution license, you are
free to: Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format; Adapt — remix, transform,
and build upon the material; for any purpose, even commercially.
Attribution: please cite this work as “K. Chepkurui, Leary, J., Minja, A., Sago, S., Batchelor S., Sawe, E.,
Brown, E., Leach M., Scott, N., Shuma, J. 2019. “eCook and Gender in Tanzania – March 2019 Final Report.”
TaTEDO, Loughborough University, University of Surrey & Gamos Ltd. supported by Innovate UK, UK Aid
& Gamos Ltd. Available from: https://elstove.com/innovate-reports/”
This data and material have been funded by UK AID from the UK government; however, the views
expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies.
Research@gamos.org | PV-ecook.org
This research is funded by DfID/UK Aid and Gamos through the Innovate UK Energy Catalyst.
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Executive Summary
This report presents a gendered analysis of how the eCook concept might fit into the Tanzanian context,
with the aim of informing the development of a battery-supported electric cooking concept, eCook. It is
part of a broader programme of work, designed to identify and investigate the opportunities and
challenges that await in potentially significant markets such as Tanzania.
Clancy et al. (2012) categorised the potential gendered effects of modern and efficient energy solutions
into time saving and drudgery reduction; income generation; resistance to change and transformation of
gender roles. In this study, Clancy et al.'s (2012) categories are used as a framework to consider the
potential gendered impacts, barriers and drivers of the eCook concept.
Time saving & drudgery reduction - eCook can make cooking quicker and easier. The people who could
save most time and effort are those who collect fuelwood. Whilst they could benefit from adopting eCook
products/services, they are not eCook’s initial target market because they have no existing expenditure
to repay the capital costs of the equipment. However, transporting bulky fuels such as a sack of charcoal
and even an LPG cylinder from the point of sale to the kitchen is still an arduous task that reoccurs monthly
and could be substituted with carrying a new set of batteries once every six years. What is more, pressing
a button is much quicker than lighting & tending fires and efficient appliances such as the electric
pressure cooker can cut cooking times in half.
Income generation - cooking is a productive activity that is often overlooked in energy access programs.
There is a clear opportunity to apply the time saved to create new livelihoods for women who adopt eCook
systems by cooking more food for sale. Of course, there is also the potential to enhance the existing
livelihoods of street vendors, restaurants and shops selling cooked food.
Resistance to change - the evidence from the choice modelling surveys suggests that future marketing
campaigns should target both genders, as the decision to purchase is likely to be made together in most
Tanzanian households. eCook is likely to be an aspirational product/service for both men and women, as
not only can it transform the kitchen, but on most days, the energy left in the battery can also enable
access to TV, lights, radio, mobile phone charging and other low power energy services. Changing the
perception of pressure cookers from dangerous to safe and the perception of electricity as too
expensive for cooking are likely to be key enablers for eCook.
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Transformation of gender roles - eCook will make cooking quicker and easier, which may be the trigger
for a slight gender shift in responsibilities, as men may be willing to take on more responsibility in the
kitchen.
A case study of female-led social enterprise in the energy access sector was undertaken to understand
how gendered business models could accelerate the uptake of future eCook products/services:
Solar Sister case study: key findings
Solar Sister uses an Avon-style product distribution model as an innovative method of spreading solar
technology. The Avon business model works by recruiting sales representative who bring their own
social networks. Solar Sister recruits, trains and mentors the sales reps, who are expected to invest
their own capital to buy the products and then resell them, firstly to family members and friends, then
as their circle expands, to friends of friends and finally their community at large. Whilst this could work
for efficient electric cooking appliances without batteries, such as electric pressure cookers, the
business model will clearly need to be adapted to focus on finding new subscribers for eCook services,
as eCook products themselves are likely to cost several hundreds of dollars.
The Avon-style business model relies on word of mouth and capitalises on the fact that trust and
familiarity between the sales rep and the consumers (family, friends and acquaintances) is more
persuasive than conventional sales methods that rely on selling to strangers. In fact, this business model
is already employed to market improved biomass & biofuel cookstoves. The aspirational nature of
eCook is likely to provide a strong driver to attract new users. By watching someone you are familiar
with cook the dishes you know, asking them questions and trying it out yourself is likely to help many
to overcome the reservations they may have about this new technology. Another advantage of the
Avon-style business model is that the sales agents can also offer after-sales services, supplying specialist
parts such as sealing rings for pressure cookers and offering friendly advice on how to make the tastiest
meals with this new equipment.
Successfully leveraging existing social media communities could greatly expand the scalability of the
Avon business model as a marketing strategy for eCook. Cooking-themed Facebook groups in East
Africa with over 1 million users and local food bloggers regularly receive hundreds of thousands of
hits on their video recipes on YouTube.
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This research is funded by DfID/UK Aid and Gamos through the Innovate UK Energy Catalyst.
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Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...................................................................................................................................... 2
RIGHTS, PERMISSIONS & DISCLAIMER ............................................................................................................... 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................................... 3
1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 6
1.1 BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................................................... 6
1.1.1 Context of the potential landscape change by eCook .............................................................................. 6
1.1.2 Introducing ‘eCook’ .................................................................................................................................. 7
1.1.3 eCook in Tanzania .................................................................................................................................... 8
1.2 ENERGY AND GENDER ......................................................................................................................................... 8
1.3 GENDER MAINSTREAMING .................................................................................................................................. 9
1.4 AIM AND OBJECTIVES........................................................................................................................................ 11
2 METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................................................... 12
3 RESULTS ................................................................................................................................................ 13
3.1 TIME SAVING AND DRUDGERY REDUCTION ............................................................................................................ 13
3.2 INCOME GENERATION ....................................................................................................................................... 14
3.3 RESISTANCE TO CHANGE.................................................................................................................................... 14
3.4 TRANSFORMATION OF GENDER ROLES .................................................................................................................. 16
3.5 CASE STUDY: SOLAR SISTER ............................................................................................................................... 18
4 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 24
5 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................... 25
6 APPENDIX .............................................................................................................................................. 27
6.1 APPENDIX A: PROBLEM STATEMENT AND BACKGROUND TO INNOVATE ECOOK PROJECT ................................................ 27
6.1.1 Beyond business as usual ....................................................................................................................... 27
6.1.2 Building on previous research ................................................................................................................ 29
6.1.3 Summary of related projects .................................................................................................................. 33
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6
1 Introduction
This report presents one part of the detailed in country research carried out to explore the market for
eCook in Tanzania. In particular, this in country work aims to gain much greater insight into culturally
distinct cooking practices and explore how compatible they are with battery-supported electric cooking.
The report is rich with detail and is intended to provide decision makers, practitioners and researchers
with new knowledge and evidence.
This report presents the key learning points from a gendered analysis of how eCook might fit into the
Tanzanian context to inform the future development of eCook within Tanzania. It is one component of a
broader study designed to assess the opportunities and challenges that lay ahead for eCook in high impact
potential markets, such as Tanzania, funded through Innovate UK’s Energy Catalyst Round 4 by DfID UK
Aid and Gamos Ltd. (https://elstove.com/innovate-reports/).
The overall aims of the Innovate project, plus the series of interrelated projects that precede and follow
on from it are summarised in in Appendix A: Problem statement and background to Innovate eCook
project.
1.1 Background
1.1.1 Context of the potential landscape change by eCook
The use of biomass and solid fuels for cooking is the everyday experience of nearly 3 billion people. This
pervasive use of solid fuels and traditional cookstoves results in high levels of household air pollution with
serious health impacts; extensive daily drudgery required to collect fuels, light and tend fires; and
environmental degradation. Where households seek to use ‘clean’ fuels, they are often hindered by lack
of access to affordable and reliable electricity and/or LPG. The enduring problem of biomass cooking is
discussed further in Appendix A: Problem statement and background to Innovate eCook project, which not
only describes the scale of the problem, but also how changes in renewable energy technology and energy
storage open up new possibilities for addressing it.
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1.1.2 Introducing ‘eCook’
eCook is a potentially transformative battery-supported electric cooking concept designed to offer access
to clean cooking and electricity to poorer households (HHs) currently cooking on charcoal or other
polluting fuels (Batchelor 2013; Batchelor 2015a; Batchelor 2015b). Enabling affordable electric cooking
sourced from renewable energy technologies, could also provide households with sustainable, reliable,
modern energy for a variety of other purposes.
A series of initial feasibility studies were funded by DfID UK AID under the PEAKS mechanism (available
from https://elstove.com/dfid-uk-aid-reports/). Slade (2015) investigated the technical viability of the
proposition, highlighting the need for further work defining the performance of various battery
chemistries under high discharge and elevated temperature. Leach & Oduro (2015) constructed an
economic model, breaking down PV-eCook into its component parts and tracking key price trends,
concluding that by 2020, monthly repayments on PV-eCook were likely to be comparable with the cost of
cooking on charcoal. Brown & Sumanik-Leary's (2015), review of behavioural change challenges
highlighted two distinct opportunities, which open up very different markets for eCook:
• PV-eCook uses a PV array, charge controller and battery in a comparable configuration to the
popular Solar Home System (SHS) and is best matched with rural, off-grid contexts.
• Grid-eCook uses a mains-fed AC charger and battery to create distributed HH storage for
unreliable or unbalanced grids and is expected to best meet the needs of people living in urban
slums or peri-urban areas at the fringes of the grid (or on a mini-grid) where blackouts are
common.
Figure 1: Pictorial definitions of ‘eCook’ terminology used in this report.
= PV-eCook
+
+
+
+
+
+
= Grid-eCook
= eCook
+
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8
1.1.3 eCook in Tanzania
Given the technical and socio-economic feasibility of the systems in the near future, Gamos,
Loughborough University and the University of Surrey have sought to identify where to focus initial
marketing for eCook. Each country has unique market dynamics that must be understood in order to
determine which market segments to target are and how best to reach them. Leary et al. (2018) carried
out a global market assessment, which revealed Tanzania as the second most viable context for PV-eCook,
due to its strong SHS industry and the fact that it is one of the world’s biggest charcoal markets, creating
several global deforestation hotspots.
The accompanying reports from the other activities carried out in Tanzania can be found at:
https://elstove.com/innovate-reports/.
1.2 Energy and gender
Energy poverty has a particular gender bias, especially in developing countries where women are generally
primarily responsible for energy procurement and management, which tends to infringe on the time
available for income generating, educational, self-improvement and/or leisure activities (Habtezion 2013).
Women and girls being the main energy producers in a family; they are burdened with the responsibility
to source energy options for the daily needs of their families (TANGSEN & HIVOS 2012). The wide use of
biomass fuels, which come from an environment that in many contexts is depreciating, resulting in their
increasing scarcity puts a toll on women, especially poorer women in rural areas (Habtezion 2013) and
most notably in female-headed households (Cecelski 2002).
Today, gender equality should be integrated into the goals of all development projects. The UN’s
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal call to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure
that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. The SDGs came into effect in 2016 and set targets to guide UN
policy and funding until 2030. The SDGs are interconnected making the success of one goal dependent on
solving issues in another goal.
Leary and Batchelor (2018) state that “currently only 16% of Tanzanians (9 million) have access to the
national grid, however only 1% (600,000) use electricity as their primary cooking fuel” while WEF (2017)
ranks Tanzania 68th out of 144 countries in terms of women’s economic participation. Cooking is the main
energy need of poorer households and lack of access to modern energy for cooking is a burden that falls
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disproportionately upon women. The WHO estimated about 18,990 deaths in Tanzania from indoor air
pollution in 2007, the vast majority of whom are women and children (TANGSEN & HIVOS 2012).
Achieving SDG 5 (gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls), very much depends on
access to affordable and reliable energy, i.e. SDG 7. Women, especially in Tanzania, are estimated to work
for 14 hours a day of unpaid household chores: fetching firewood, cooking, washing, farming (they
produce 60% of all food crop). Without commitments and actions to address cooking energy concerns,
women in Tanzania will continue to be oppressed, discriminated against and suffer the consequences of
energy poverty (TANGSEN & HIVOS 2012). eCook offers the potential to extend access to clean cooking to
households in off-grid and weak-grid regions. As such, it directly addresses SDG 7, however it clearly has
the potential to also make a significant contribution towards SDG 5. By considering the potential impacts
of eCook on each gender, we can understand how the positive impacts can be amplified and negative
impacts mitigated.
Figure 2: Regina Sago cooking ugali on an early prototype eCook system in Dar es Salaam.
1.3 Gender Mainstreaming
EIGE, (2017, p. 1) state that gender mainstreaming: “involves the integration of a gender perspective into
the preparation, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies, regulatory measures and
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spending programmes, with a view to promoting equality between women and men, and combating
discrimination”. This process ensures that policies and legislations consider the needs of all citizens;
women and men, boys and girls. Energia, (2019) break down the key steps to achieving gender
mainstreaming as:
• Assess the likely implications of specific projects on women and men.
• Build consensus among stakeholders on gender sensitive approaches.
• Determine gender goals and strategies for specific programmes or projects and designing
activities to achieve these.
• Develop gender sensitive monitoring strategies.
TANGSEN is at the forefront of gender mainstreaming into the energy sector in Tanzania. They hosted the
validation workshop for the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) gender action plan, which had the goal of
establishing equal opportunities for women and men in access to and control over sustainable energy
services as an essential right to development. To achieve this goal, the workshop’s specific objectives
were:
• To effectively mainstream gender on SE4All related policies, strategies, plans, programs, projects
and budgets.
• Promote women’s employment and economic empowerment in the SE4All initiative.
Clancy and Stockbridge (2017) ,say that the volume of research on the relationship between gender and
energy is still relatively small although many efforts are being made to fill the gaps. Access to sustainable
energy can transform the lives of both men and women in a lot of ways however, energy interventions
are generally gender blind with little attention given to women’s interests. Energy interventions impact
women and men differently and without considering this, the policies made risk missing the key targets
of the different roles played by women and men inside and outside the home which require different
energy demands. There is evidence of gendered approaches at the project level, especially for the over-
represented female headed households in the low-income categories and it has proved to have positive
impacts on the livelihood of rural families. In these cases, gendered approaches have achieved increased
connection rates.
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1.4 Aim and objectives
The aim of this study is to engender the eCook research, design and implementation processes to ensure
that they yield the maximum possible benefits for both genders.
This will be achieved by using Tanzania as a case study to:
1) identify the likely impacts of eCook on women and men, looking for opportunities to maximise the
positive impacts, e.g. by connecting time savings with specific entrepreneurial opportunities; and
2) identify gender-specific marketing strategies to enable eCook to rapidly reach scale.
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12
2 Methodology
The findings presented in this report are based upon data obtained from the following sources:
• A literature review on gender and energy issues in Tanzania.
• Notes taken during personal interviews and focus groups (see Figure 3) with research participants
undertaken during the eCook Tanzania cooking diaries study
o 20 participants were provided with new electric cooking appliances (pressure cookers,
rice cookers, thermo-pots) and they were expected to record their cooking for 6 weeks;
with emphasis on energy readings, quantity and type of food being cooked.
• Analysis of gender-focussed questions from the eCook Tanzania choice modelling surveys of 200
participants.
• Analysis of summary reports for eCook Tanzania focus groups carried out in Ubungo, Moshi,
Kibindu and Kifuru.
• Contributions from TANGSEN through interviews and notes from workshops.
Figure 3: Practical demonstration of early eCook prototypes at focus groups held in Kifuru (left) and Kibindu (right).
Clancy et al. (2012) categorised the potential gendered effects of modern and efficient energy solutions
into time saving and drudgery reduction; income generation; resistance to change and transformation of
gender roles. In the following section, Clancy et al.'s (2012) factors are used as a framework to consider
the potential impact of the eCook concept.
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3 Results
3.1 Time saving and drudgery reduction
Using energy efficient appliances and practices can drastically change the
amount of time required for cooking and its associated chores. Improved
energy solutions that are also time-efficient and can be left unattended,
like the electric pressure cooker, free up women’s time for other activities.
They can also reduce the hard labour that many women have to experience
on a regular basis, in particular collecting biomass fuels like firewood far
from home and then coming back to domestic responsibilities including
lighting and tending fires (Figure 4). What is more, efficient electric cooking
appliances can also speed up the cooking process itself: using the electric
pressure cooker cuts the cooking time for long boiling dishes like beans in
half.
Figure 4: Lighting a charcoal stove regularly takes 10 minutes and can easily exceed half an hour if the charcoal is
wet.
ALTHOUGH PEOPLE WHO
COLLECT THEIR COOKING
FUEL ARE NOT ECOOK’S
PRIMARY TARGET MARKET
BECAUSE THERE IS NO
EXISTING EXPENDITURE
TO REPAY THE CAPITAL
COSTS OF THE EQUIPMENT,
TRANSPORTING BULKY
FUELS SUCH AS A SACK OF
CHARCOAL AND EVEN AN
LPG CYLINDER FROM THE
POINT OF SALE TO THE
KITCHEN IS STILL AN
ARDUOUS TASK.
WHAT IS MORE, PRESSING
A BUTTON IS MUCH
QUICKER THAN LIGHTING
& TENDING FIRES; &
EFFICIENT APPLIANCES
SUCH AS THE ELECTRIC
PRESSURE COOKER CAN CUT
COOKING TIMES IN HALF.
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14
3.2 Income generation
With time saved from using efficient cooking technologies, women could
get involved in economic activities that will improve their financial state.
Financial freedom for women gives them the power to make more choices
in their lives, even more so for female-headed families. For example, Solar
Sister contributes to women economic empowerment by providing
training, business mentorship, technology and leadership skills to enable
women kickstart a sustainable clean energy business (see case study
below). Men often report that the level of power available at home from
solar home systems is often not enough to operate the type of equipment
they would use in enterprises, such as welding gear and motors. However,
eCook presents an opportunity to enhance an existing livelihood for
restaurant owners, street vendors and shop owners who sell cooked or
partially cooked food. What is more, eCook systems are likely to be
significantly larger than the current generation of solar home systems that
are designed for lighting and other low power applications. This opens the
door to a larger range of appliances that can complement cooking
appliances and greatly increase the potential to enhance existing and
create new livelihoods, such as irons or water pumps.
3.3 Resistance to change
Not all technologies are received with open arms; some are met with
suspicion and uncertainty. For instance, the electric pressure cooker was met with uncertainty from most
eCook Tanzania research participants due to the reputation of pressure cookers ‘exploding’. The author’s
own cousins have been burned by an older stove-top pressure cooker, which they had pried open to taste
some of the food whilst their parents were out of the house, resulting in an explosion of scalding food and
water. Unlike the old pressure cookers, the new improved electric pressure cookers have a variety of new
safety features; an electric pressure cooker (Figure 5) does not allow for opening whilst it is still in
pressure, it locks up and only opens after pressure has been released from the pressure valve or it has
been cooled down. However, changing the perception of pressure cookers as dangerous and
disassociating the electric pressure cooker with older models is likely to remain a significant challenge.
COOKING IS A
PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITY
THAT IS OFTEN
OVERLOOKED IN ENERGY
ACCESS PROGRAMS. THERE
IS A CLEAR OPPORTUNITY
TO APPLY THE TIME SAVED
TO CREATE NEW
LIVELIHOODS FOR WOMEN
WHO ADOPT ECOOK
SYSTEMS BY COOKING
MORE FOOD FOR SALE.
OF COURSE, THERE IS ALSO
THE POTENTIAL TO
ENHANCE THE EXISTING
LIVELIHOODS OF STREET
VENDORS, RESTAURANTS
AND SHOPS SELLING
COOKED FOOD.
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There is also a false perception in Tanzania (and across much of Sub-
Saharan Africa) that electricity is too expensive to cook with. In fact, the
evidence from the cooking diaries shows the opposite, i.e. that most
participants saved money by switching from charcoal and/or LPG to
electricity. Changing this perception will not be easy, but will be a critical
enabler for future eCook products/services.
As opposed to Clancy et al.'s (2012) findings, the discrete choice modelling
results from our eCook Tanzania study revealed that the decision to
acquire an eCook product/service is likely to be a joint decision, rather than
solely a male responsibility. Figure 6 shows that the result was slightly different for a solar panel than for
a cookstove, with the HHs not making joint decisions reporting that the male head of HH was more likely
to decide on the solar panel, whilst the female head of HH was more likely to decide on the cookstove.
However, as Clancy et al. (2012) suggests, women are likely to remain the managers of the purchased
equipment.
Figure 5: Esther Mwangamila cooking ndizi nyama in an electric pressure cooker at a stakeholder event in Dar es
Salaam.
CHANGING THE
PERCEPTION OF PRESSURE
COOKERS FROM
DANGEROUS TO SAFE & OF
ELECTRICITY AS
EXPENSIVE TO CHEAP ARE
LIKELY TO BE KEY
ENABLERS FOR ECOOK.
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Figure 6: Preliminary discrete choice modelling results on household decision making.
3.4 Transformation of gender roles
Improved energy solutions have the potential to benefit all the members of
the household, but in different ways. eCook technology has the potential to
shift existing gender roles, not only by creating more free time and
enhancing livelihood opportunities for women, but potentially also by
encouraging men to do more cooking.
ECOOK IS LIKELY TO BE AN
ASPIRATIONAL
PRODUCT/SERVICE FOR
BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, AS
NOT ONLY CAN IT
TRANSFORM THE KITCHEN,
BUT ON MOST DAYS, THE
ENERGY LEFT IN THE
BATTERY CAN ALSO ENABLE
ACCESS TO TV, LIGHTS,
RADIO, MOBILE PHONE
CHARGING AND OTHER LOW
POWER ENERGY SERVICES.
FUTURE MARKETING
CAMPAIGNS SHOULD
TARGET BOTH GENDERS, AS
THE DECISION TO
PURCHASE IS LIKELY TO BE
MADE TOGETHER IN MOST
TANZANIAN HOUSEHOLDS.
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17
The focus group discussions confirmed that cooking is generally a woman’s
responsibility, but that men are starting to become involved, especially in
the preparation of quicker and easier foods/drinks. The women in Ubungo
noted that in the old times, when the patriarchal system was unchallenged,
women did all the cooking as men did what men did best; give instructions
and provide for the family. It was a taboo for men to cook and it was
witchcraft if a man was seen cooking. Some men would perhaps have liked
to cook, but cultural norms didn’t allow. However, in this generation some
men help their women in the households. The Ubungo group felt that most
men have little skill regarding cooking and some women preferred to cook
themselves. They also noted that men prefer to prepare quick foods, often
taking shortcuts. As a result, they can often cook faster, but they are poor
when it comes to energy conservation and budgeting and usually use many
utensils and don’t clean up after themselves.
The Moshi focus group revealed that it was mostly women that did the cooking while the man is at work.
Rarely do men cook even when they are in the home due to cultural norms. Only when the woman is sick
or travelling does the man cook. However, they all agreed that with eCookers, men might be willing to try,
as without having to light and tend a fire, cooking is significantly easier.
In Kibindu, the focus group participants also stated that women cook all the time, with female children
helping their mothers to cook. One lady, who was supported by the rest of the group, suggested that men
do not cook because they think that this will give the women power to control them. However, in Ubungo
there were two households where men did some cooking. One lady mentioned that although she did
most of the cooking, her husband at least prepared the tea and, in another household, they share the
cooking 50/50. However, another lady joked that her husband only ‘gave recommendations’ on what/how
to cook.
THE COMMENT ABOUT MEN
LIKING ‘QUICK FOODS’ IS
INSIGHTFUL. IT IS
LIKELY THAT ECOOK WILL
MAKE COOKING QUICKER
AND EASIER, AND THAT MAY
BE THE TRIGGER FOR A
SLIGHT GENDER SHIFT IN
RESPONSIBILITIES – BY
BUILDING ON MEN’S NEED
TO DO THINGS ‘QUICKLY’.
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eCook may be particularly attractive to men (Figure 7), as efficient electric cooking appliances can cook
faster, require less skill to operate and minimise cleaning requirements; electric pressure cookers and rice
cookers have a single pot to clean, a non-stick coating on the inside and no soot to scrub off the outside.
Burning food on these appliances is also much less likely, because in the electric pressure cooker, the
water is sealed inside, and both have automatic control that cuts off the power when the pot gets too
hot.
Figure 7: If cooking becomes easier, will we see more men in the kitchen?
3.5 Case Study: Solar Sister
In Tanzania, ENERGIA, in partnership with Solar Sister under the Woman’s Economic Empowerment
Program recruits, trains, mentors and provides leadership skills in business for women (Figure 8). First,
potential solar sister entrepreneurs are identified with the help of the local community leaders then they
are supported with multi-stage entrepreneur training, continuous sisterhood of mentorship and market
development. So far, they have impacted over 1.4 million people across Africa. These women bring high
quality and affordable clean energy solutions to rural customers. Solar Sister also has a Gender and Energy
Advocacy program called Women + Energy = WE Shine; a nation-wide campaign that raises the voice of
women entrepreneurs in the energy value chain, providing inputs on strategies and success stories to
support integration of the women into the Tanzania’s SE4All country agenda (Energia 2019).
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Figure 8: Solar Sister entrepreneurs (Africa 2017).
Solar sister uses an Avon-style product distribution model as an innovative method of spreading solar
technology. The Avon style business model works by recruiting a sales representative who is required to
come with his or her social network, they are trained by an organization/company on certain products
and can first use the products just to familiarise themselves with it. The sales reps are expected to invest
their own capital to get the products and after training they can then sell these products to family
members, friends as the circle expands to friends of friends and then the community at large. This style
of business relies on the word of mouth from one person who has used the product to one that has not,
or observing differences made to people’s lives from using it which sparks interest in what they are using
to look better, and in the case of solar sister, to make life better, affordable and clean. This business model
capitalises on the fact that trust and familiarity of the sales rep to the consumers (family, friends and
acquaintances) is more persuasive than conventional sales methods that rely on strangers selling to new
customers (Brandon 2015).
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This business model allows Solar Sister to empower women to provide
rural customers with products that they would otherwise not have had
access to (Basu et al. 2013). The founder and CEO of Solar Sister, Lucey
Katherine, saw solar products transform from expensive, heavy and bulky
items with big panels, wires, batteries requiring substantial installations;
to small, compact and more affordable integrated products, such as the
solar lantern. People from rural areas could now access and afford them,
especially to replace kerosene, which was expensive - around $2 or $4
weekly, versus a solar lantern with a $5 upfront cost and free fuel (the sun)
(Cynthia 2018).
This business model could work well for eCook, as the economic argument
of diverting an existing expenditure (in this case charcoal for cooking
instead of kerosene for lighting) is the same. Cooking is normally a topic of
conversation amongst women, with most women in Tanzania learning to
cook from their mothers and other female relatives and friends. As a result,
selling new cooking technologies by commissioning women as sales agents
targeting their friends, family and neighbours is a natural fit. Ongoing
research on eCook in Zambia has revealed that several research
participants regularly attend kitchen parties, where groups of (primarily)
women get together at a group member’s home to share recipes,
techniques and new kitchen gadgets. It is clear to see how such gatherings
could be extended/replicated to form the basis of an Avon-style business
model for eCook products. (Hosier et al. 2017).
The reach of the Avon-style business model could be greatly extended
using social media. Similar research in Kenya has uncovered a Facebook
group (‘Let’s Cook Kenyan Meals’) with 1.6 million members (Figure 9).
Participants share recipes, pictures of their favourite dishes and discuss
kitchen practices, which sometimes ventures into the realms of energy (e.g. asking which fuel produces
the tastiest chapati or how long a 6kg gas cylinder lasts for). Posts regularly receive in excess of 1,000
comments and 5,000 likes, clearly showing the broad reach of the group. Some posts also have a
commercial nature, offering cooking products/services, showing that it could be a platform for direct sales
IN FACT, THE AVON STYLE
BUSINESS MODEL EMPLYED
BY SOLAR SISTER IS
ALREADY EMPLOYED BY
SEVERAL ACTORS TO
MARKET IMPROVED
BIOMASS & BIOFUEL
COOKSTOVES (HOSIER ET
AL. 2017).
THE ASPIRATIONAL
NATURE OF ECOOK
PRODUCTS/SERVICES IS
LIKELY TO PROVIDE A
STRONG DRIVER TO
ATTRACT NEW USERS. BY
WATCHING SOMEONE YOU
ARE FAMILIAR WITH COOK
THE DISHES YOU KNOW,
ASKING THEM QUESTIONS
& TRYING IT OUT
YOURSELF IS LIKELY TO
HELP MANY TO OVERCOME
THE RESERVATIONS THEY
MAY HAVE ABOUT THIS NEW
TECHNOLOGY.
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of eCook products/services, recruiting new entrepreneurs and/or
organising Avon-style kitchen parties in new areas.
Figure 9: Sample post from the Let’s Cook Kenyan Meals Facebook group.
Similarly, YouTube videos posted by East African food bloggers showing a
step by step recipe for typical foods often receive hundreds of thousands
of views (Figure 10). If these bloggers could be recruited as sales agents, or
simply to feature eCook products/services in one of their videos, this could
open the door to hundreds of thousands of new potential users.
Figure 10: East African food blogger with 366,000 hits for her chapati recipe.
So far TaTEDO has received 40 inquiries for electric pressure cookers and
rice cookers after they facilitated a two-day training program that
supported the promotion of alternative cooking energy technologies
(Figure 11). The main objective of the training was to introduce and
encourage wider use of efficient electric appliances for household cooking
services and small-scale businesses on its potential for financial, time and
energy saving.
SUCCESSFULLY
LEVERAGING EXISTING
SOCIAL MEDIA
COMMUNITIES COULD
GREATLY EXPAND THE
SCALABILITY OF THE AVON
BUSINESS MODEL AS A
MARKETING STRATEGY
FOR ECOOK. FIRSTLY, AS A
TOOL FOR RAISING
AWARENESS OF THE
PRODUCT/SERVICE,
SECONDLY, FOR
PUBLICISING IN PERSON
DEMONSTRTIONS &
THIRDLY FOR RECRUITING
NEW SALES AGENTS.
EAST AFRICA HAS AN
EMERGING FOOD BLOGGER
SCENE, FUELLED
PRIMARILY BY YOUNGER
PEOPLE WANTING TO
LEARN HOW TO COOK NEW
DISHES. TAPPING INTO
THIS PLATFORM COULD BE
ANOTHER ROUTE TO
RAPIDLY REACHING SCALE,
AS VIDEO RECIPES ON
YOUTUBE RECEIVE
HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS
OF VIEWS.
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Figure 11: Training event on energy-efficient electric cooking organised by TaTEDO, supported by WWF/SIDA
(Philemon 2018).
As with any business model, this one also has challenges. Abby (2018)
conducted interviews of former entrepreneurs to find out why some
women dropped out of their solar sister business:
• Start-up and scale-up capital: some women having taken up a loan
for their initial inventory down payment which has to be repaid
within a short period of time do not have a chance to turn over
their inventory month after month. Abby (2018) reports that their
“data shows that entrepreneurs in [their] program who begun
their business with a loan have lower sales and tend to drop out
sooner.” For larger products, such as eCook systems, the core
business model may have to be adapted, with the entrepreneurs
aiming to sign up new customers to an ‘eCook service’, rather than
the directly selling the product itself. For one, very few customers
are likely to be able to purchase a system costing several hundreds
of dollars in one go, but it is also unrealistic to expect
entrepreneurs to purchase stock with their own money.
• Competition: especially from low quality and faulty products in the
market, which undermines the importance of having strong brand
and consumer awareness. In Dar es salaam, one of the participants
A KEY CHARACTERISTIC OF
THE AVON-STYLE BUSINESS
MODEL IS THAT
ENTREPRENEURS FIRST
INVEST THEIR OWN FUNDS
TO PURCHASE PRODUCTS
THAT THEY CAN SELL ON AT
A PROFIT. WHILST THIS
COULD WORK FOR
EFFICIENT ELECTRIC
COOKING APPLIANCES
WITHOUT BATTERIES, THE
BUSINESS MODEL WILL
CLEARLY NEED TO BE
ADAPTED FOR ECOOK
SYSTEMS, WHICH ARE
LIKELY TO COST SEVERAL
HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS.
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of the eCook research noted this as a challenge that comes with
the pressure cookers and rice cookers, especially because they do
not come with spare parts. For example, the first thing that might
get destroyed in a pressure cooker is the rubber that seals the pot
to the lid. Once this is spoilt there is no other spare to replace it
and a user will be forced to either buy another pressure cooker,
(which would be too expensive and very wasteful), use it as an
unpressurised pot/stove, turn to a cheaper knock-off product, or
replace the seal with one from another model, which could be
dangerous.
• Health related issues: such as chronic illnesses, pregnancies or
even short-term sickness that could temporarily or permanently
force an entrepreneur to stop her business ventures in their
communities.
• Cultural reasons: of women entrepreneurs citing their husbands
denying them the opportunity to do business due to deeply
entrenched norm and culture.
ANOTHER ADVANTAGE OF
THE AVON-STYLE BUSINESS
MODEL IS THAT THE SALES
AGENTS CAN ALSO OFFER
MAINTENANCE SERVICES.
NOT ONLY DOES THIS
ADDRESS THE LOGISTICAL
CHALLENGES IN
OBTAINING SPECIALIST
PARTS SUCH AS SEALING
RINGS FOR PRESSURE
COOKERS, BUT USERS ARE
MUCH MORE LIKELY TO
APPROACH SOMEONE
FAMILIR TO HELP SOLVE
THEIR SMALL PROBLEMS
BEFORE THEY BECOME
MAJOR ISSUES.
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4 Conclusion
By casting a gendered lens onto the future market for eCook products and services in Tanzania, this study
has uncovered new potential impacts, barriers and drivers for this emerging concept. In particular, the
Avon-style business model employed by Solar Sister and several cookstove actors shows particular
promise as a means to rapidly reach scale by leveraging existing social networks. If this can be achieved,
time savings in the kitchen could lead new opportunities for cooking as a new or enhanced productive
activity for women. Quicker and easier cooking may also lead to a shift in gender roles by encouraging
men to cook more. However, key to achieving this will be overcoming the perception of pressure cookers
as dangerous and electricity as too expensive for cooking.
The findings from this gender analysis will be combined with those from the other activities that have
been carried under the eCook Tanzania Market Assessment. Together they will build a more complete
picture of the opportunities and challenges that await this emerging concept. Further outputs will be
available from https://elstove.com/innovate-reports/.
Research@gamos.org | PV-ecook.org
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5 References
Abby, M., 2018. Overcoming barriers to business success - Solar Sister.
Africa, G., 2017. Conversation with Olasimbo of Solar Sister: Empowering Women Entrepreneurs in the
Sustainable Energy Industry. Available at: https://medium.com/@GridlessAfrica/conversation-with-
olasimbo-of-solar-sister-on-empowering-women-entrepreneurs-in-the-sustainable-15a5357e96c6.
Basu, R., Banerjee, P. & Sweeny, E., 2013. Frugal Innovation: Core Competencies to Address Global
Sustainability,
Batchelor, S., 2015a. Africa cooking with electricity (ACE). Available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/298722923_Africa_cooking_with_electricity_ACE.
Batchelor, S., 2013. Is it time for Solar electric cooking for Africa?, Gamos Concept Note, May 2013,
Reading, UK. Available at: http://www.gamos.org/images/documents/Is.
Batchelor, S., 2015b. Solar Electric Cooking in Africa in 2020: A synthesis of the possibilities, Evidence on
Demand (prepared at the request of the UK Department for International Development). Available
at: https://www.gov.uk/dfid-research-outputs/solar-electric-cooking-in-africa-in-2020-a-synthesis-
of-the-possibilities.
Brandon, G., 2015. Avon Business Model and Growth Strategy.
Brown, E. & Sumanik-Leary, J., 2015. A review of the behavioural change challenges facing a proposed
solar and battery electric cooking concept, Evidence on Demand (prepared at the request of the UK
Department for International Development). Available at: https://www.gov.uk/dfid-research-
outputs/a-review-of-the-behavioural-change-challenges-facing-a-proposed-solar-and-battery-
electric-cooking-concept.
Cecelski, E., 2002. Enabling Equitable Access to Rural Electrification: Current Thinking on Energy, Poverty
and Gender. ENERGIA.
Clancy, J. et al., 2012. Gender Equity In Access To And Benefits From Modern Energy And Improved Energy
Technologies: World Development Report Background Paper. World Development Report: Gender
Equality and Development.
Clancy, J. & Stockbridge, M., 2017. Why the research?,
Cynthia, S., 2018. Katherine Lucey — CEO & Founder of Solar Sister — Talks Last-Mile Solar
Revolution (#CleanTechnica Video) | CleanTechnica.
EIGE, 2017. Gender Equality Index 2017: Measuring Gender Equality in the European Union 2005-2015.,
Energia, 2019. Solar Sister; Women + Energy: WE Shine,
Habtezion, S., 2013. Gender and energy,
Hosier, R. et al., 2017. Scalable Business Models for Alternative Biomass Cooking Fuels and Their Potential
Research@gamos.org | PV-ecook.org
This research is funded by DfID/UK Aid and Gamos through the Innovate UK Energy Catalyst.
26
in Sub-Saharan Africa, Available at: www.worldbank.org [Accessed March 7, 2019].
Leach, M. & Oduro, R., 2015. Preliminary design and analysis of a proposed solar and battery electric
cooking concept : costs and pricing, Evidence on Demand (prepared at the request of the UK
Department for International Development). Available at: https://www.gov.uk/dfid-research-
outputs/preliminary-design-and-analysis-of-a-proposed-solar-and-battery-electric-cooking-
concept-costs-and-pricing.
Leary, J. et al., 2018. eCook Global Market Assessment Where will the transition take place first ?, Available
at:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326489706_eCook_Global_Market_Assessment_Wher
e_will_the_transition_take_place_first.
Philemon, B., 2018. SIDA, WWF team up with TaTEDO to wean women from charcoal use in Dar. The
Guardian.
Slade, R., 2015. Key Assumptions and Concepts on Potential for Solar Electric Cooking: Batteries capable
of operating suitably in ‘harsh’’ conditions in the developing world,’ Prepared at the request of the
UK Department for International Development. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/dfid-research-
outputs/key-assumptions-and-concepts-on-potential-for-solar-electric-cooking-batteries-capable-
of-operating-suitably-in-harsh-conditions-in-the-developing-world.
TANGSEN & HIVOS, 2012. Facts on achieving gender equality in relation to usage of modern energy
services and technologies at household level in tanzania,
Research@gamos.org | PV-ecook.org
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6 Appendix
6.1 Appendix A: Problem statement and background to Innovate eCook project
6.1.1 Beyond business as usual
The use of biomass and solid fuels for cooking is the everyday experience of nearly 3 Billion people. This
pervasive use of solid fuels––including wood, coal, straw, and dung––and traditional cookstoves results
in high levels of household air pollution, extensive daily drudgery required to collect fuels, and serious
health impacts. It is well known that open fires and primitive stoves are inefficient ways of converting
energy into heat for cooking. The average amount of biomass cooking fuel used by a typical family can be
as high as two tons per year. Indoor biomass cooking smoke also is associated with a number of diseases,
including acute respiratory illnesses, cataracts, heart disease and even cancer. Women and children in
particular are exposed to indoor cooking smoke in the form of small particulates up to 20 times higher
than the maximum recommended levels of the World Health Organization. It is estimated that smoke
from cooking fuels accounts for nearly 4 million premature deaths annually worldwide –more than the
deaths from malaria and tuberculosis combined.
While there has been considerable investment in improving the use of energy for cooking, the emphasis
so far has been on improving the energy conversion efficiency of biomass. Indeed in a recent overview of
the state of the art in Improved Cookstoves (ICS), ESMAP & GACC (2015), World Bank (2014), note that
the use of biomass for cooking is likely to continue to dominate through to 2030.
“Consider, for a moment, the simple act of cooking. Imagine if we could change the
way nearly five hundred million families cook their food each day. It could slow climate
change, drive gender equality, and reduce poverty. The health benefits would be
enormous.” ESMAP & GACC (2015)
The main report goes on to say that “The “business-as-usual” scenario for the sector is encouraging but
will fall far short of potential.” (ibid,) It notes that without major new interventions, over 180 million
households globally will gain access to, at least, minimally improved
1
cooking solutions by the end of the
1
A minimally improved stove does not significantly change the health impacts of kitchen emissions. “For biomass cooking,
pending further evidence from the field, significant health benefits are possible only with the highest quality fan gasifier stoves;
more moderate health impacts may be realized with natural draft gasifiers and vented intermediate ICS” (ibid)
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decade. However, they state that this business-as-usual scenario will still leave over one- half (57%) of the
developing world’s population without access to clean cooking in 2020, and 38% without even minimally
improved cooking solutions. The report also states that ‘cleaner’ stoves are barely affecting the health
issues, and that only those with forced gasification make a significant improvement to health. Against this
backdrop, there is a need for a different approach aimed at accelerating the uptake of truly ‘clean’
cooking.
Even though improved cooking solutions are expected to reach an increasing proportion of the poor, the
absolute numbers of people without access to even ‘cleaner’ energy, let alone ‘clean’ energy, will increase
due to population growth. The new Sustainable Development Goal 7 calls for the world to “ensure access
to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”. Modern energy (electricity or LPG) would
indeed be ‘clean’ energy for cooking, with virtually no kitchen emissions (other than those from the pot).
However, in the past, modern energy has tended to mean access to electricity (mainly light) and cooking
was often left off the agenda for sustainable energy for all.
Even in relation to electricity access, key papers emphasise the need for a step change in investment
finance, a change from ‘business as usual’. IEG World Bank Group (2015) note that 22 countries in the
Africa Region have less than 25 percent access, and of those, 7 have less than 10 percent access. Their
tone is pessimistic in line with much of the recent literature on access to modern energy, albeit in contrast
to the stated SDG7. They discuss how population growth is likely to outstrip new supplies and they argue
that “unless there is a big break from recent trends the population without electricity access in Sub-
Saharan Africa is projected to increase by 58 percent, from 591 million in 2010 to 935 million in 2030.”
They lament that about 40% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population is under 14 years old and conclude that if
the current level of investment in access continues, yet another generation of children will be denied the
benefits of modern service delivery facilitated by the provision of electricity (IEG World Bank Group 2015).
“Achieving universal access within 15 years for the low-access countries (those with
under 50 percent coverage) requires a quantum leap from their present pace of 1.6
million connections per year to 14.6 million per year until 2030.” (ibid)
Once again, the language is a call for a something other than business as usual. The World Bank conceives
of this as a step change in investment. It estimates that the investment needed to really address global
electricity access targets would be about $37 billion per year, including erasing generation deficits and
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additional electrical infrastructure to meet demand from economic growth. “By comparison, in recent
years, low-access countries received an average of $3.6 billion per year for their electricity sectors from
public and private sources” (ibid). The document calls for the Bank Group‘s energy practice to adopt a
new and transformative strategy to help country clients orchestrate a national, sustained, sector-level
engagement for universal access.
In the following paragraphs, we explore how increasing access to electricity could include the use of solar
electric cooking systems, meeting the needs of both supplying electricity and clean cooking to a number
of households in developing countries with sufficient income.
6.1.2 Building on previous research
Gamos first noted the trends in PV and battery prices in May 2013. We asked ourselves the question, is it
now cost effective to cook with solar photovoltaics? The answer in 2013 was ‘no’, but the trends suggested
that by 2020 the answer would be yes. We published a concept note and started to present the idea to
industry and government. Considerable interest was shown but uncertainty about the cost model held
back significant support. Gamos has since used its own funds to undertake many of the activities, as well
as IP protection (a defensive patent application has been made for the battery/cooker combination) with
the intention is to make all learning and technology developed in this project open access, and awareness
raising amongst the electrification and clean cooking communities (e.g. creation of the infographic shown
in Figure 12 to communicate the concept quickly to busy research and policy actors).
Gamos has made a number of strategic alliances, in particular with the University of Surrey (the Centre
for Environmental Strategy) and Loughborough University Department of Geography and seat of the Low
Carbon Energy for Development Network). In October 2015, DFID commissioned these actors to explore
assumptions surrounding solar electric cooking
2
(Batchelor 2015b; Brown & Sumanik-Leary 2015; Leach
& Oduro 2015; Slade 2015). The commission arose from discussions between consortium members, DFID,
and a number of other entities with an interest in technological options for cleaner cooking e.g. Shell
Foundation and the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves.
2
The project has been commissioned through the PEAKS framework agreement held by DAI Europe Ltd.
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Drawing on evidence from the literature, the papers show that the concept is technically feasible and
could increase household access to a clean and reliable modern source of energy. Using a bespoke
economic model, the Leach and Oduro paper also confirm that by 2020 a solar based cooking system
could be comparable in terms of monthly repayments to the most common alternative fuels, charcoal and
LPG. Drawing on published and grey literatures, many variables were considered (e.g. cooking energy
needs, technology performance, component costs). There is uncertainty in many of the parameter values,
including in the assumptions about future cost reductions for PV and batteries, but the cost ranges for the
solar system and for the alternatives overlap considerably. The model includes both a conservative 5%
discount rate representing government and donor involvement, and a 25% discount rate representing a
private sector led initiative with a viable return. In both cases, the solar system shows cost effectiveness
in 2020.
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Figure 12 Infographic summarising the concept in order to lobby research and policy actors.
The Brown and Sumanik-Leary paper in the series examines the lessons learned from four transitions –
the uptake of electric cooking in South Africa, the roll out of Improved Cookstoves (ICS), the use of LPG
and the uptake of Solar Home Systems (SHS). They present many behavioural concerns, none of which
preclude the proposition as such, but all of which suggest that any action to create a scaled use of solar
electric cooking would need in depth market analysis; products that are modular and paired with locally
appropriate appliances; the creation of new, or upgrading of existing, service networks; consumer
awareness raising; and room for participatory development of the products and associated equipment.
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A synthesis paper summarising the above concludes by emphasising that the proposition is not a single
product – it is a new genre of action and is potentially transformative. Whether solar energy is utilised
within household systems or as part of a mini, micro or nano grid, linking descending solar PV and battery
costs with the role of cooking in African households (and the Global South more broadly) creates a
significant potential contribution to SDG7. Cooking is a major expenditure of 500 million households. It is
a major consumer of time and health. Where households pay for their fuelwood and charcoal
(approximately 300 Million) this is a significant cash expense. Solar electric cooking holds the potential to
turn this (fuelwood and charcoal) cash into investment in modern energy. This “consumer expenditure”
is of an order of magnitude more than current investment in modern energy in Africa and to harness it
might fulfil the calls for a step change in investment in electrical infrastructure.
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6.1.3 Summary of related projects
A series of inter-related projects have led to and will follow on from the research presented in this report:
• Gamos Ltd.’s early conceptual work on eCook (Batchelor 2013).
o The key CONCEPT NOTE can be found here.
o An early infographic and a 2018 infographic can be found here.
• Initial technical, economic and behavioural feasibility studies on eCook commissioned by DfID (UK
Aid) through the CEIL-PEAKS Evidence on Demand service and implemented by Gamos Ltd.,
Loughborough University and University of Surrey.
o The key FINAL REPORTS can be found here.
• Conceptual development, stakeholder engagement & prototyping in Kenya & Bangladesh during
the “Low cost energy-efficient products for the bottom of the pyramid” project from the USES
programme funded by DfID (UK Aid), EPSRC & DECC (now part of BEIS) & implemented by
University of Sussex, Gamos Ltd., ACTS (Kenya), ITT & UIU (Bangladesh).
o
The key
PRELIMINARY RESULTS
(Q1 2019) can be found here.
• A series of global & local market assessments in Myanmar, Zambia and Tanzania under the “eCook
- a transformational household solar battery-electric cooker for poverty alleviation” project
funded by DfID (UK Aid) & Gamos Ltd. through Innovate UK’s Energy Catalyst Round 4,
implemented by Loughborough University, University of Surrey, Gamos Ltd., REAM (Myanmar),
CEEEZ (Zambia) & TaTEDO (Tanzania).
o
The key
PRELIMINARY RESULTS
(Q1 2019) can be found here.
• At time of publication (Q1 2019), a new DfID (UK Aid) funded research programme ‘Modern
Energy Cooking Services’ (MECS) lead by Prof. Ed Brown at Loughborough University is just
beginning and will take forward these ideas & collaborations.
This data and material have been funded by UK AID from the UK government; however, the views
expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies.