| Summary: | A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2015. === Over 60% of the Swazi population resides in rural areas and rely on woodfuel for their daily cooking needs. Cooking with woodfuel on open fires is inefficient and unhealthy, leading to millions of deaths of women and children each year while also contributing to environmental degradation. This has necessitated the implementation of Government’s clean cookstoves programme in Swaziland. This study focused on household stove users in six chiefdoms in the Lower Usuthu Sustainable Land Management (LUSLM) Project area in Siphofaneni Swaziland. A survey conducted through the dissemination of a questionnaire was used to investigate how rural perceptions impact on the adoption of clean cookstove technologies as an alternative household energy technology contributing towards sustainable development in rural Swaziland.
Results from this study indicate that although cooking on an open fire was the least desired cooking technology, only 2% of households in the project area own clean cookstoves and less than half of the households had knowledge of cookstoves. The study further revealed that over 80% of the households in the survey area would prefer using a clean cookstoves to reduce the labour intensive task of collecting firewood as well as reducing exposure to smoke. The households found to have some knowledge of the benefits of clean cookstoves indicated the willingness to pay for a clean cookstove; however, a third of the respondents indicated a preference of obtaining a free clean cookstove. The price and availability of the clean cookstove in rural areas were two main barriers to increased uptake of the stoves, coupled with the need to purchase new pots. Despite the general lack of awareness of these technologies, challenges such as danger of the stoves to children and stove durability were also cited. The results indicate the need for the ongoing clean cookstove programme being implemented by the Government of Swaziland to improve on its strategy, to focus on incorporation of perceptions of rural stove users in development of appropriate cookstove designs, distribution models, and the design and implementation of a cookstove quality control programme.
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