Boiling Point

The use of well-designed improved cookstoves (ICS) in regions devoid of modern energy yields high private and social returns, mostly related to considerable woodfuel savings. Take-up rates are nonetheless often very low when people have to pay cost-covering prices. This paper presents main results of a study in rural Senegal where households were individually invited to purchase ICS in their villages. Households’ ICS purchases and willingness to pay levels turned out to be unexpectedly high. We therefore explore potential factors behind this surprisingly high adoption, particularly those features of our approach that deviate from common real-world ICS markets. We observe that especially the way we designed our personalized door-to-door sales offer is an important determinant. Based on our findings, we derive insights for the design of future ICS dissemination programs. This article outlines the main results of a study in rural Senegal where households were invited to purchase simple improved biomass cookstoves in their villages. Households’ stove purchases and willingness to pay levels turned out to be unexpectedly high considering that the stoves are generally available in the area and at least part of the study sample households were already exposed to the specific stove type before. We therefore conducted an explorative analysis of potential factors that may have triggered the high degree of sales. In particular, aspects of the applied mode of stove delivery and the specific interview situation are assessed. This serves to derive insights into potential intervention design and communication approaches for entry-level improved stoves, which are likely transferable to higher-tier modern energy access technologies as well.