The design of a charcoal-based cooking stove matching the cooking and food habits in Uganda and Ghana

Abstract

Cooking is ubiquitous in all cultures as it is a fundamental necessity of existence. We are all sustained by food that has been transformed by heat. Cooking food helps in the digestion of nutrients while killing harmful bacteria and viruses. This basic principle of cooking food is the same over the world. However the difference lies within the execution of the cooking process. In the Netherlands we are accustomed to cooking inside in a kitchen on a gas or electric stove. When the weather conditions permits, families gather outside to grill food on a barbecue. This is completely different when looking at other parts of the world. In many African countries it is still the women’s job to provide food for the family. Depending on their living conditions, most women cook outside on portable wood or charcoal stoves. This use of traditional stoves causes a significant amount of air pollution due to the incomplete combustion of fuel. Evenings and inclement weather will cause the cooking/stove to be brought inside, further increasing health risks.

For many cookstove companies this was one of the main drivers behind the design of improved cookstoves. Despite their efforts to improve the current situation, on the long term the users often resumed to use the traditional stoves (World Health Organization, 2014). It was seen that the focus has been too much on the reduction of the polluting emissions and fuel consumption. Reaching the targets has become more important that the needs and habits of the users of these stoves. The identification and understanding of these needs is an essential step in the adaptation process.

Prakti, a cookstove company in the Southern part of India has been successfully implementing a good understanding of the context into the design of their cookstoves. Majority of Prakti’s existing stoves are wood based as this fuel is predominant in the countries (India, Nepal and Bangladesh) Prakti distributes most of its stoves. At the start of this master thesis Prakti expressed the desire to fit the a newly developed technology in a new product for the African market. When taking into account the recent and continuing urbanization in African cities, a new improved charcoal stove was a fair addition to the existing product portfolio. Prakti had developed a new combustion technology based on charcoal that should result in a reduction of emissions (indoor air pollution) and a reduction of the fuel consumption.
At the beginning of the project Uganda and Ghana were chosen as the target countries. Making use of the Context Variation by Design approach an elaborated research was done. Over the course of two months desktop research was done about Uganda and an in-depth field research was done in Ghana to understand the needs. For both countries the cooking habits, rituals and the cooking power (to cook the most common dishes) were identified. These insights were compared and the similarities and differences between the countries were pinpointed. These were used as the main input for the design criteria.

The design process was initiated in Delft by incorporating rituals and habits for the direction of the cookstove development. This was finished before going to Prakti in India. At Prakti’s laboratory the emphasis was on the optimization of the combustion technology to suit the identified power needs and CO emissions. Upon returning from India the optimization of Prakti’s technique (the interior of the stove) was integrated with the exterior design of the selected concept. This prototype was made in Prakti’s workshop. During the construction of the concept improvements were identified to be able to make a solid final design.

The final product is Prakti’s newest charcoal stove: the CharcHole. This charcoal stove is specially designed to suit the needs of women living in urban and peri-urban Uganda and Ghana while exerting less harmful CO and saving on charcoal. The stove accommodates the pans these women use, refuelling is done from the top of the stove and ash removal can easily be done whilst cooking. When the gas extension is purchased, the women can also tailor the stove to fit their fuel preferences during the year.

The design is not ready to be implemented as of yet. A number of recommendations are made to ensure a successful product, of which the most important ones are to test the stove with the intended users in Uganda and Ghana. Secondly the CO emissions need to be reduced by improving Prakti’s technology through more experiments. Lastly the proposed gas extension should be evaluated with the users to confirm the demand for this extension.