The cooking sector, especially donors and financing bodies, currently put the focus on the lifetime of the improved cook stove (ICS), which can vary somewhere between 3 to 5 years for the household models, when supporting the scale-up of efficient and clean cooking activities.

But this approach is wrong. The focus should be put on the people using that new technology, instead of worrying on how many sales can be achieved, or if the product includes a warranty. The objective is to make sure that user or household is being supported throughout their lifetime as they successfully make the cooking transition and move up the energy ladder. Projects should be there to support users to ensure they do not go back to old traditional cooking methods, to provide advice if new cooking technologies arise and can continue to upgrade to more beneficial cooking appliances. Projects should be there to monitor the user’s usage rate, stacking habits, and provide support to any repairs and maintenance needed.

We know the aim is to provide with modern, affordable and cleaner cooking solutions to many individuals still cooking today like in the Stone Age. Intentions are good, but the design is short sighted. Let us focus on the lifetime of our beneficiaries, instead of focusing on the lifetime of the technology. Then we would have succeeded in having a long-lasting impact in the lives of those left behind.