Understanding Cooking Behaviour and Stove Preferences in Rural India

Indoor Air Pollution causes close to 500,000 deaths in India (according to WHO). This mortality rate can be reduced significantly by the use of improved cookstoves. These cookstoves also reduce the use of biomass consumption, and thereby, diminish adverse impact on the environment. There is, however, little focus and knowledge available on appropriate stove technologies suitable for the unique and diverse needs of users in rural India.

GIZ India, under its Indo-German Energy Programme, has published a study in close cooperation with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, titled "The Kaleidoscope of Cooking", that includes cooking patterns and consumer preferences prevalent in the Indian states of West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

The study, which can be downloaded below, is a useful resource in identifying cooking technologies suitable for users living in diverse geographical and socio-economic backgrounds. It also includes suggestions from rural cooks on improving existing cookstoves to better meet their cooking requirements.