Studying household decision-making context and cooking fuel transition in rural India

Abstract

This short communication piece questions whether unaffordability really matters for families to reject improved fuels. It presents the case of an Indian village where nearly every house has successfully introduced a TV, but only one house adopted LPG for cooking. Considering that the former is more expensive than the latter and whilst both are relatively new and energy-related technologies, the paper asks how and why people decided to adopt one extensively but not the other. Methodologically, the study employs a mixed method approach, collecting both quantitative and qualitative data. The findings suggest that the lack of sufficient income has little influence on people to adopt or reject improved fuels. The paper argues that it may not give us a clear picture if we research why people choose or reject one fuel over another. This paper demonstrates that to understand a household's fuel choice decision, it is essential to understand the broader decision-making context within which families operate and make all decisions.