Perceived Factors Influencing Adoption of Modern Cooking Technologies in Public Secondary Schools in Nairobi County of Kenya

Abstract

Biomass energy usage in Kenya, accounts for about 68% of country’s total energy consumption, the major consumers being households, communal institutions such as secondary schools, and small and medium enterprises. Firewood has remained the fuel of choice for institutional use. However, the growing population and firewood demand in schools is reaching alarming levels. However, a myriad of alternative energy sources is available for use in institutions, these include pellets and briquettes, LPG Gas, Biogas and even electricity. This has led to innovation and technologies resulting in production and commercialization of improved cookstoves and other environmentally friendly cooking technologies including Savika Biojiko, Liquefied Petroleum Gas, Biogas, Ethanol, and Electric stoves. The intention of this research was to investigate the perceived factors which determine the acceptance and usage of green cooking technologies in government owned Secondary Schools of Kenya, with a case study of Nairobi County. The study adopted a descriptive research design in which it targeted secondary school principals, and the manufacturers. A total of 56 participants took part in the study. Semi-structured questionnaires and interview guides were used to gather information from the participants. The data collected was processed, cleaned, and analyzed through inferential and descriptive statistics using SPSS version 23. The mean student population was about 866±455 with an average annual income of KES. 2,368,422±1,624,987. Almost half (48.1%) of the schools sampled fully relied on firewood, 19.2% of them used charcoal to complement firewood, 17.3% used LPG besides firewood, 9.6% used charcoal and LPG alongside firewood, while 5.8% supplemented firewood with briquettes. The study further established that socio-economic factors, stove characteristics and environment related factors significantly influence the adoption of modern cooking technologies. Stove characteristics had the highest positive correlation of r=0.903, (p< 0.001) followed by Environment related factors which had a correlation of r=0.638 (p< 0.015) and then Socioeconomic which had a correlation of r=0.614 (p< 0.001). Additionally when adoption of MCT was regressed against socioeconomic factors, stove characteristics and environment related factors, the study established that Socioeconomic factors, Stove characteristics and Environment related factors significantly predicted Adoption of MCT, F (3, 211) =101.506, p=0.001. The coefficient of determination R2 value was 0.669. This shows that 66.9% of the variance in adoption of MCT can be explained by Social-economic factors, Stove characteristics, Environment related factors. For every unit increase in socioeconomic factors, adoption of MCT could increase by 0.175 units (17.5%), for a unit increase in stove characteristics, adoption of MCT would increase by 0.267 units (26.7%); and for a unit increased in Environment related factors, Adoption of MCT, would increase by 0.227 units (22.7%). The findings based on data analysis revealed the trends in adoption of modern cooking technologies, consequently, uncovering the critical reasons that cause overreliance of institutions on fuel wood which is a critical area in Biomass studies. Thus, a new practice in sustainable institutional cooking may be arrived at. The study therefore recommends that stove manufacturers should consider doing market research among the secondary schools in Kenya to establish their expectation with regards to which modern cooking technologies. Additionally, Systematic and structured awareness creation about modern cooking technologies should be formulated just to target the secondary schools and implemented across the County and country and Policies should be formulated, customized, implemented for the adoption of modern cooking technologies in secondary schools such that government has a defined role and mandate of enforcing the adoption policy in all secondary schools.