Gendered time, financial & nutritional benefits from access to pay-as-you-go LPG for cooking in an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya

ABSTRACT Introduction Few studies have examined gendered benefits of transitioning from polluting cooking fuels (e.g. charcoal, kerosene) to cleaner fuels (e.g. liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)). This study investigates pathways between adoption of pay-as-you-go (PAYG) LPG and women’s empowerment in Nairobi, Kenya. Methods Female (N=304) and male (N=44) primary cooks in an informal settlement in Nairobi were surveyed from December 2021-January 2022. The majority (84%; N=293) were customers of PayGo Energy, a company offering PAYG LPG. Other individuals (16%; N=55) cooking with full cylinder LPG or polluting fuels were randomly sampled from the community. The 45-minute telephonic survey examined how access to PAYG LPG affected the livelihoods of PayGo Energy’s customers. Results PayGo Energy customers were 50% more likely to cook exclusively with LPG (60%) than those using full cylinder LPG (40%). Due to reduced cooking times (average reduction: 42 min/day among previous polluting fuel users) from the adoption of PAYG LPG, the majority (58%; N=70) of female household heads took on additional employment compared with 36% (N=55) of females living in male-headed households. A greater proportion of married female household heads used their monetary savings from cooking with PAYG LPG for investment (41%) or savings (35%), compared with married women that were not household heads (3% and 21%, respectively). Increased dietary diversity and consumption of protein-rich foods (legumes, meat, fish) from cooking with PAYG LPG was reported by 15% of female household heads. Conclusion Female household heads were more likely than non-household heads to experience economic and nutritional gains when adopting PAYG LPG, illustrating how the agency of women influences their social co-benefits when undergoing clean energy transitions.