Did clean cooking interventions fail or succeed? Community insights from rural India

Abstract

Various clean cooking intervention programs have been initiated over the years by the government, academia and non-governmental organisations to ensure universal clean and modern energy for all. Assessment of these projects is necessary to scale up the intervention or re-strategise the approach for more effectiveness and efficiency. This study took a qualitative approach to assess three clean cooking interventions (PMUY, Improved Cookstove and Smokeless Chulha) in Guptapada, a rural village in Khordha district, Odisha, India. A three-step research approach involving participant identification and selection using purposive and simple random sampling, data collection via interviews (48), key informant discussions (8), and focus group discussions (9) and data analysis and interpretation using thematic analysis was used. Insights from the study's results show that the clean cooking projects did not yield corresponding success stemming from economic difficulty, awareness, the COVID-19 pandemic, misconceptions, and stove performance, among others. Based on these, recommendations such as integrating awareness and the theory of change framework as part of clean cooking interventions were made for effective approaches to tackling clean cooking in rural and remote villages and ensuring that current and future interventions fulfil the objective among the rural populace. This study contributes to the existing knowledge base through a user-based experience of three different interventions offering pathways for fueling change towards clean cooking interventions and effective adoption in rural India. This leads to an increase in the proportion of population with primary reliance on clean cooking fuels and technology for cooking (Target 7.1.2) and renewable energy share (Target 7.2.1).