Pay-as-you-go LPG: A mixed-methods pilot study in urban Rwanda

Perros, Tash; Büttner, Paul; Leary, Jon; Parikh, Priti

doi:10.1016/j.esd.2021.10.003

Cited by 20 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Previous studies have shown that an awareness of the benefits of LPG is often not the limiting factor but instead financial capacity in being able to afford the equipment and gas cylinders. In this study women report wanting to pay for LPG in small amounts, which has also been documented with in a recent successful pay-as-you-go LPG pilot study in urban Rwanda [44]. Although barriers included financial capacity and safety concerns, which are previously documented within the literature [16,22,29,43], it is likely that there are multiple interconnected barriers that need to be overcome to enable sustained adoption.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

Women’s Perceptions and Attitudes to Household Air Pollution Exposure and Capability to Change Cooking Behaviours in Urban Rwanda

et al. 2022

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Household air pollution (HAP) from cooking on biomass fuel presents significant health, environmental and socioeconomic consequences worldwide. However, there is a lack of understanding of the factors influencing cooking behaviours that affect HAP exposure in Rwanda (e.g., cooking location, removing children from the cooking area). Sixteen qualitative in-depth interviews were undertaken with women living in an underprivileged neighbourhood in Kigali, Rwanda. Deductive thematic analysis was carried out using the Behaviour Change Wheel (Capability—ability to engage with chosen activity, Opportunity—factors which are beyond the individual’s control and Motivation—brain processes which direct behaviour: COM-B) to determine the thoughts and perceptions around cooking location and removing children from the cooking area. Facilitators and barriers were subsequently identified within the COM-B framework for the following HAP mitigation interventions: outdoor cooking, removing children from the cooking area and Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) use. Of the 16 interviewed, 12 cooked outdoors (75%), two (12.5%) cooked indoors (in the main home) and two (12.5%) in a separate kitchen. Despite the majority cooking outdoors, this was reported not to be a favourable cooking location. Levels of awareness of HAP sources and knowledge of the health effects of air pollution were observed to be limited, reducing women’s capability to change, along with stated barriers of cost, housing constraints and safety. Factors out of the individuals’ control (opportunities) included weather, socio-economic and educational factors. Preconceived beliefs, experiencing smoke reduction and the briefly described short-term health effects, directed motivation. Furthermore, participants identified a need for community-based education as a facilitator to changing their behaviour. Despite a high level of observed motivation towards reducing HAP exposure, many women lacked the capability and opportunity to change their behaviour. There are research and policy implications concerning development of community-based interventions which involved end-users and relevant stakeholders in the development process.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 52%

Women’s Perceptions and Attitudes to Household Air Pollution Exposure and Capability to Change Cooking Behaviours in Urban Rwanda

et al. 2022

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“…Although not covered in this review, the upfront affordability of electric cooking devices may be a larger barrier to adoption due to this specificity. LPG also suffers from large minimum purchase quantities of fuel, although new business models like pay-as-you-go attempt to overcome this [69], [70].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For ICS, Phy_Opp stacking was frequently attributed to the stove being too small (TEC_5) and therefore unable to support large cooking pots (EQU_1) [40], [52], [65]- [68]. This made them unsuitable for feeding large groups of people [40], [69]- [71] or for making dishes that are usually cooked in bulk [65]. This is because ICS are usually single-burner devices that cannot physically support large pots.…”

Section: Com-b Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural factors that drive stacking with traditional cooking fuels using the COM-B model

et al. 2022

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Globally, 2.8 billion people cook with biomass fuels, resulting in devastating health and environmental consequences. Efforts to transition households to cooking with clean fuels are hampered by "fuel stacking", the reliance on multiple fuels and stoves. Consequently, there have been few interventions that have realised the full potential of clean cooking. Here we conduct a structured literature review (N=100) to identify drivers of fuel stacking and specify them according to a psychological model of behaviour, the Capability-Opportunity-Motivation (COM-B) model. We create a taxonomy of stacking and find that the Physical Opportunity domain accounted for 82% of drivers. Our results have important implications for intervention design as they suggest improving opportunity is the most effective pathway to adoption of cleaner fuels. The findings are used to derive recommendations about how policy makers and practitioners can proactively address drivers of stacking in order to foster adoption of clean cooking stoves and fuels.

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“…In previous studies, many participants specifically referenced the switch from the single-burner ‘meko’ LPG stove to the double-burner LPG stove included as part of PayGo Energy’s package as the reason for faster cooking time and increased cost-effectiveness of PAYG LPG (Perros et al, 2021; Shupler et al, 2021c). Previous research conducted among multiple peri-urban communities in sub-Saharan Africa has further found that a higher number of LPG stoves burners is associated with increased per capita LPG consumption, regardless of socioeconomic status (Shupler et al, 2021a).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) LPG is an emerging model for the consumption of LPG whereby households are able to purchase LPG credits in small increments (via mobile banking) (Perros et al, 2021; Shupler et al, 2021c). Although there is a surcharge to the fuel costs to cover equipment installation and delivery fees, PAYG is a model that can provide resource-poor households in SSA with the payment flexibility needed to maintain clean cooking during periods of reduced household income (Shupler et al, 2021c).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gendered time, financial & nutritional benefits from access to pay-as-you-go LPG for cooking in an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya

Shupler

Karl

O’Keefe³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Introduction: Few studies have examined gendered benefits of transitioning from polluting cooking fuels (e.g. charcoal, kerosene) to cleaner fuels (e.g. liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)). This study investigates pathways between adoption of pay-as-you-go (PAYG) LPG and female empowerment in Nairobi, Kenya. Methods: Female (N=304) and male (N=44) primary cooks in an informal settlement in Nairobi were surveyed from December 2021-January 2022. The majority (84%; N=293) were customers of PayGo Energy, a company offering PAYG LPG. Other individuals (16%; N=55) cooking with full cylinder LPG or polluting fuels were randomly sampled from the community. The 45-minute telephonic survey examined how access to PAYG LPG affected the livelihoods of PayGo Energy's customers. Results: PayGo Energy customers were 50% more likely to cook exclusively with LPG (60%) than those using full cylinder LPG (40%). Due to reduced cooking times (average reduction: 42 min/day among previous polluting fuel users) from the adoption of PAYG LPG, the majority (58%; N=70) of female household heads took on additional employment compared with 36% (N=55) of females living in male-headed households. A greater proportion of married female household heads used their monetary savings from cooking with PAYG LPG for investment (41%) or savings (35%), compared with married women that were not household heads (3% and 21%, respectively). Increased dietary diversity and consumption of protein-rich foods (legumes, meat, fish) from cooking with PAYG LPG was reported by 15% of female household heads. Conclusion: Female household heads were more likely than non-household heads to experience economic and nutritional gains when adopting PAYG LPG, illustrating how the agency of women influences their social co-benefits when undergoing clean energy transitions.

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Pay-as-you-go LPG: A mixed-methods pilot study in urban Rwanda

Cited by 20 publications

References 30 publications

Women’s Perceptions and Attitudes to Household Air Pollution Exposure and Capability to Change Cooking Behaviours in Urban Rwanda

Women’s Perceptions and Attitudes to Household Air Pollution Exposure and Capability to Change Cooking Behaviours in Urban Rwanda

Behavioural factors that drive stacking with traditional cooking fuels using the COM-B model

Gendered time, financial & nutritional benefits from access to pay-as-you-go LPG for cooking in an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya

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