| dc.description.abstract | The study assessed the status of using Improved Cooking Stoves (ICS) at Makandana ward in the
Rungwe District. Specifically, it determined the availability of ICS, analysed the factors that
influence the use of the improved cooking stoves and determined initiatives were taken to
motivate the community to use ICS technology. Data were collected through focus group
discussions, observations and interviews. While the questionnaire was used as a tool to collect
primary data from respondents, the checklists were employed to solicit secondary information
from key informants. Descriptive and Logistic regression analyses were used in the data analysis.
Descriptive results reported that there were few users of improved cooking stoves by 39.0
percent. Logistic regression analysis showed that age, education level, costs of ICS, food taste,
sensitization, availability of ICS and time consumption during cooking were statistically
significant in the use of ICS at p<0.05. Dissemination of information (54.7 percent), promotion
(52.0 percent) and technical training (37.3 percent) were the main initiatives to motivate the use
of ICS. More financial, technical support and credit to youth groups are highly recommended to
produce affordable ICS with good quality. Training, seminars, workshops, meetings and public
media such as radios and cell phones (SMS) should enable the spreading of knowledge on the use
of ICS. | en_US |
