Analysis of Household Use of Traditional Fuels and Possible Contribution to Deforestation in Kisii County, Kenya

Abstract

A large majority of Kenyans still rely on traditional fuels to meet their domestic cooking needs. The demand for traditional biomass is therefore likely to increase in the coming decades as long as they remain the most readily available and affordable in comparison to modern energy options. This research sought to analyze the household use of traditional fuels and its possible contribution to deforestation in Kisii County. The willingness of respondents to adopt alternative biofuels and energy efficient stoves and barriers encountered were also assessed. Two structured questionnaires that contained both open and close-ended questions were administered to 436 households and 40 wood fuel sellers respectively. Analysis of variance and regression analysis were used to analyze the alternative hypotheses of the study. It was established that the use of charcoal was the most prevalent compared to other fuels. Household consumption of traditional fuels contributed to an estimated loss of 39 ha of forest cover per annum. However, since 89.7% of the wood fuel used was sourced from other counties, the loss of biomass did not occur in Kisii County. Given a chance, about 63% of the respondents were willing to adopt alternative biofuels and energy efficient stoves. However, the greatest barrier to the adoption of these alternatives was the high cost of purchase. Other barriers identified included lack of government support and unwillingness to let go of traditional cooking practices. It was recommended that the Kenyan government and other stakeholders should promote local technologies for producing energy efficient stoves to make them more affordable to the populace.