Understanding the Impacts of Traditional Cooking Practices in Rural Madagascar and a Way Forward with Improved Cookstoves

Traditional biomass cooking practices pose a major threat to human health and the environment in Madagascar, where over 99% of the population relies on solid biomass fuels for energy. Biomass burning is a major contributor to household air pollution, which can impact the respiratory and cardiovascular health of primarily women and children. The need for fuelwood also places stress on the environment as a major driver of deforestation. This thesis quantifies the household air pollution and exposure measured in ~20 households in a village in the SAVA region of Madagascar, in addition to the amount of fuelwood extraction, and the time and health burdens on the local population. This thesis also presents an assessment of the improved cookstove landscape in the SAVA region and tests the efficiencies of several of these stoves to estimate the fuelwood reduction impact these stoves could have. Water boiling tests were performed on three wood-burning stoves and five charcoal-burning stoves sold in the region. It was found that household and individual exposure to particulate matter and carbon monoxide exceeded WHO standards and roughly 42% of individuals were found to have hypertension. Families are estimated to consume an average of 3,088 kg of fuelwood per year and walk an average distance of 3.3 kilometers, three times a week to collect. Of the improved wood stoves tested, two were found to require significantly less fuelwood (up to 1/3 less fuel by weight) than traditional methods. These findings emphasize the problems associated with traditional cooking and the potential for improved cooking technologies to mitigate these issues in energy-poor communities.