Warming Up To Solar Cooking- A Comparative Study On Motivations And The Adoption Of Institutional Solar Cookers In Developing Countries

摘要

In many developing countries people rely on firewood as a primary energy source which has negative health and environmental consequences. Solar cooking offers a solution to overcome those problems. The promotion of solar cookers has become very popular over the years and a wide range of organizations promote different types of solar cookers around the world. However, it is not clear how many of those cooking systems are still in use. The literature on solar cookers is very limited and has focused mainly on household solar cookers, while solar cookers for institutional applications have been ignored. This study contributes to this debate by comparing application levels of an institutional type of solar cooker (Scheffler reflectors) in different developing countries. Preliminary results show that different types of motivational factors play an important role for adopting this type of solar cooker. Motivational aspects were divided into economic, health and environmental factors. The analysis shows that in nine out of 24 cases Scheffler reflectors were in use and that in all these nine cases motivational factors were present. Furthermore, we can see that institutions mainly emphasize economic and environmental motivational aspects, while positive health effects were mentioned in just two cases. In addition, three identified cultural variables were present in all nine positive adoption cases. The study shows that the more similar the solar kitchen is to the conventional way of cooking, the more successful it tends to be. However, those cultural variables alone do not lead to the continuous use of solar cookers; they have to be combined with the earlier-mentioned motivational aspects.