Free distribution of a technology can be an effective development policy instrument if its adoption is socially inefficient and hampered by affordability constraints. Improved cookstoves may be such a case: they generate high environmental and public health returns, but adoption is generally low.

Greening the wood energy sector holds a vast potential for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions and improving rural livelihoods, FAO said on the occasion of the UN's International Day of Forests. Up to seven percent of global greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans come from the production and use of fuelwood and charcoal.

The approach of the study contains the brief literature review on the industrial consumption and production of charcoal in India. Based on this and the pre-set objectives, the study problems were formulated.

This working paper presents findings and insights from a study of stove users in Kenya, providing insights on successful marketing strategies, in particular how behaviour change techniques and good after-sales relationships can help stove implementers to exploit social multiplier effects.