Sustainable utilization of woodfuel in selected rural sites of Mwala sub-county, Machakos County, Kenya

Many of the rural households use traditional stoves which have low energy efficiency leading to wastage of wood fuel. This study focused on understanding the sustainable utilization of wood fuel in two (2) sub-locations namely Mwala and Kibauni. The primary objective of this study was to establish if wood fuel utilization styles by the households in the study areas is sustainable. The specific objectives of the study were to: document the types of cooking stoves used by households in the study areas, establish the level of adoption of the energy saving measures and explore other alternative energy sources which the residents use to complement wood fuel. This study used survey methodology and observation to collect data. The total household sample size was 160 respondents. Data collection instrument for this research was questionnaires. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics and the software was Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. From the findings of the research the traditional three stone stoves was the most popular stove, in Mwala having 93% of the respondents using it and Kibauni 96%. There was significant relationship between the type of stove and the number of days taken to consume one 20kg bundle of dry wood (df=1 and 158, F=8.187, p=0.005).The study revealed low adoption of rationing of wood with majority of the respondents, i.e 84% in Kibauni and 65% in Mwala not practicing it. There was significant relationship between rationing of woodfuel and the number of days taken to consume a bundle of 20 kg of dry wood (df=1 and 158, F=462.898, p=0.00). The study also revealed low adoption of splitting of wood with 70% of respondents in Mwala and 88% in Kibauni not doing the splitting. There was low adoption of putting off fire after use with 66% of respondents in Mwala and 81% in Kibauni not practicing it. The study revealed a significant relationship between putting off fire after use and the number of days taken to consume one bundle of 20 kg of dry wood (df=3 and 156, F=57.292, p=0.00). In alternative energy sources like biogas, solar and electricity majority of the households did not have any with 67% of households in Mwala and 57% in Kibauni reporting to have none of the mentioned alternative energy sources. The study recommended that aggressive campaign in dissemination of improved stoves and related technology in order to reduce pressure on forests and embrace energy saving measures like rationing wood, splitting wood and putting off fire after use. It also recommended subsidizing of electricity connection and assistance of the Government to enable the households install biogas and solar power.