Deconstructing 'discriminatory' technologies: Insights into inclusive development from improved cookstove projects in Nigeria

Abstract

Efforts to develop and disseminate improved cookstoves among biomass-reliant populations have been launched by both Northern and Southern development actors, with the interactions between North and South constantly shaping notions of appropriate technology within local contexts. This paper examines elements of the interaction between the Centre for Household Energy and the Environment (CEHEEN), a local nongovernmental organization (NGO) that set out independently to promote the uptake of improved cookstoves in Nigeria, and Project Gaia, a US-based international NGO that arrived later on the scene with similar objectives but a different approach. Using data from interviews and project documents, the paper shows how the principles that informed CEHEEN's Improved Egaga project-those of participatory development, indigenous technology, and local production-have given way to the seemingly progressive technology transfer principles underpinning Project Gaia's CleanCook project. Contrary to CEHEEN's assumption that the ethanol-fueled CleanCook stove would be less 'discriminatory' than the wood-burning improved Egaga stove, the findings show that higher-income households that already have access to comparable alternatives such as kerosene and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) stoves are likely to be incorporated in the CleanCook solution to a greater degree than the low-income biomass-reliant households that were originally targeted by the Improved Egaga project. The paper highlights the pitfalls inherent in homogenizing the energy needs and capabilities of Southern populations and concludes that a differentiated approach to collaborative energy projects which recognizes the opportunities and limitations of households at various socioeconomic levels is likely to produce more inclusive, if modestly incremental outcomes.