The Determinants of Rural Women’s Decision-Making On Adopting Improved Cook-stoves to Diversify Livelihood Strategies in Busega District, Tanzania

Abstract

This article examines the determinants influencing the decision-making process of rural women in Busega District, Tanzania, regarding  the adoption of improved cook-stoves and livelihood strategies diversification. The sustainable livelihoods approach (SLA) was adopted to  explain key variables of the study. A crosssectional research design was applied to collect data from 210 rural women through a  household survey. Findings show that 71.43% of the respondents preferred to use improved cook-stoves, but only 23.33% managed to  adopt them; while 28.57% showed disinterest due to past accidents of kerosine stove explosions (mindsets). Price fluctuation  (seasonality) emerged as the primary determinant affecting the decision to adopt improved cook-stoves; acknowledged by 96.19% of the  rural women. A t-test (p-value 0.00 at p-value 0.05) analysis revealed a significant difference in food preparation hours between women  with and without improved cook-stoves, indicating their positive impact. Moreover, excessive time spent on gathering firewood and  cooking hindered 76.67% of rural women from effective participation in livelihood strategies diversification. In conclusion, mindsets and seasonality were the key determinants influencing rural women’s decisions on adopting improved cook-stoves. The article recommends  for community development officers to empower rural women and address these determinants to facilitate informed decision-making on  the adoption of improved cook-stoves to save time for livelihood strategies diversification.