Deconstructing networks, unearthing consensus: Diffusion of "cleaner" cookstoves in rural Himalayas of India

Abstract

Background: Both social structures and people's beliefs affect the diffusion of innovations, but few studies have been able to understand how these dual influences operate simultaneously. Understanding this simultaneity is important because sustainable practices are influenced by the processes of social learning which build on individual interactions to become embedded in communities of practice. We combined social network and cultural consensus analyses to understand the diffusion of information on "cleaner" cookstoves in eight villages located within a micro-watershed of Kullu District in Himachal Pradesh, India. Methods: First, using social network analysis, we identified networks of information flow for three "cleaner" cookstoves: liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cookstoves, induction cookstoves, and Himanshu tandoors. Second, we identified key players in the cookstove information networks. Third, using cultural consensus method, we determined and compared the beliefs of the key and non-key players, as identified from the information networks. Results: We found that information networks for selected cookstoves varied in structural measures of density and centrality. We also found that a local non-profit played a lead role in spreading information about selected "cleaner" cookstoves. There was a consensus among both key and non-key player groups regarding beliefs about selected cookstoves; however, non-key players had a higher agreement among themselves and fewer overlapping beliefs than key players. We also found that key players were not always users of the technology itself. This implies that key players, unlike opinion leaders, were not necessarily proponents of selected cookstoves but were able to spread information about them because of their position within the networks. Conclusion: We identified the mismatches in beliefs regarding "cleaner" cookstoves within a community. These mismatches reveal the differences in what people know and what they share through interactions within social networks, suggesting that communities of practice have yet to form. Because the formation of communities of practice has implications for how the adoption of sustainable technologies becomes routinized, we stress the need for more socio-cultural perspectives in diffusion studies.