Abstract

A survey of households in a suburban area of Madagascar has enabled us to discern the use of improved cook stoves and metal charcoal stoves, depending on the socio-economic, cultural and technical factors characterizing the households. This study presents a model of charcoal consumption for these two stoves, using quantitative and qualitative variables. The models developed make it possible to compare the two stoves in terms of the average quantity of charcoal consumed monthly by the households. As a result, for both stoves, household size correlates positively with charcoal consumption, while price correlates inversely. A forecast charcoal price of 725 Ariary (local currency) per kilo results in an 11.3% drop in consumption, on average, for both types of charcoal stove. However, a 2.8% reduction in charcoal expenditure with improved cook stoves, and just 0.15% with metal stoves. Households with metal households are therefore less sensitive to price variations. The life-standing character of the electricity bill is also verified, i.e. wealthier families consume more electrical energy than poorer ones. With metal stoves, the number of baccalaureate holders correlates positively with charcoal consumption. As for the type of housing occupied by households, the better it is, the lower the charcoal consumption. Furthermore, it is proved that the charcoal saved by using improved cook stoves is only 2.44% by weight. Households using improved cook stoves consumed an average of 9.663 kg/cap/month, compared with 9.899 kg/cap/month for metal stoves. This is still a long way from the expected results. Market regulation, training and sensitizing activities concerning improved cook stoves are needed to achieve the objectives set and to ensure the sustainability of the programs promoting these stoves.

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