Differences in firewood users’ and LPG users’ perceived relationships between cooking fuels and women’s multidimensional well-being in rural India

Abstract

Clean cooking fuels are generally assumed to bring health and other benefits for women compared with solid fuels, which suggests they should be preferred. However, despite the availability of clean cooking fuels, such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), the scale of solid fuel use in rural India remains large. Here we examine women’s positions on fuel transition and multidimensional well-being through a qualitative analysis of data from focus group discussions with comparable groups of women who have versus those who have not transitioned to LPG. We show that women who use firewood believe their cooking fuel supports their well-being in several ways, and see no enabling relationship between LPG use and well-being. In contrast, LPG users—who were previous firewood users—claim LPG has enabled well-being. These results suggest that perspectives on the relationship between fuel and well-being shift after transition, due to the realization of new advantages. Understanding differences in the perspectives of women using different fuels is vital to unpack the dynamics of cooking fuel transition. There is consensus that using firewood negatively impacts women’s well-being, suggesting that clean alternatives will be preferred. However, this study finds that women have different views on how cooking with firewood and LPG support well-being depending on the fuel they currently use.