Abstract
This study was conducted to investigate and provide empirical evidence on energy scarcity and its possible implications on the well-being of the family. A primary aim was to find out if people perceive a household fuel scarcity. Another aim was to determine whether such a scarcity could be expected to affect the nutrition or well-being of the family. Since women are generally responsible for the life-preserving activities in the household, women in low-income families in Lusaka formed the target group. Charcoal is the main source of energy for cooking for the majority of the urban middle and low income families. It is also the main fuel used for heating water for bathing. Over 90% of the population in the study area used charcoal for cooking. People use charcoal primarily it is readily available. It is the men who are mostly responsible for purchasing the charcoal, as for most of the other household purchases. No household fuel scarcity was evidenced. On the contrary, the vast majority of the respondents (95%) did not consider charcoal expensive compared to other household expenditures like food, housing, clothing, etc. Charcoal was found to represent only a small fraction of household expenditure on food items. It
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Chiw, P;
[1]
Muchelemba, J B;
Siamwiza, R J;
[2]
Ellegaard, A
[3]
- Department of Energy (Zambia)
- Univ. of Zambia (Zambia)
- Stockholm Environment Inst. (Sweden)
Citation Formats
Chiw, P, Muchelemba, J B, Siamwiza, R J, and Ellegaard, A.
Household energy and nutrition. A study of low-income households in Lusaka.
Sweden: N. p.,
1994.
Web.
Chiw, P, Muchelemba, J B, Siamwiza, R J, & Ellegaard, A.
Household energy and nutrition. A study of low-income households in Lusaka.
Sweden.
Chiw, P, Muchelemba, J B, Siamwiza, R J, and Ellegaard, A.
1994.
"Household energy and nutrition. A study of low-income households in Lusaka."
Sweden.
@misc{etde_10114513,
title = {Household energy and nutrition. A study of low-income households in Lusaka}
author = {Chiw, P, Muchelemba, J B, Siamwiza, R J, and Ellegaard, A}
abstractNote = {This study was conducted to investigate and provide empirical evidence on energy scarcity and its possible implications on the well-being of the family. A primary aim was to find out if people perceive a household fuel scarcity. Another aim was to determine whether such a scarcity could be expected to affect the nutrition or well-being of the family. Since women are generally responsible for the life-preserving activities in the household, women in low-income families in Lusaka formed the target group. Charcoal is the main source of energy for cooking for the majority of the urban middle and low income families. It is also the main fuel used for heating water for bathing. Over 90% of the population in the study area used charcoal for cooking. People use charcoal primarily it is readily available. It is the men who are mostly responsible for purchasing the charcoal, as for most of the other household purchases. No household fuel scarcity was evidenced. On the contrary, the vast majority of the respondents (95%) did not consider charcoal expensive compared to other household expenditures like food, housing, clothing, etc. Charcoal was found to represent only a small fraction of household expenditure on food items. It is concluded that energy expenditure is not a major issue in the household economy. Requirements appear to be met. Charcoal prices in real terms have been stable or even declining over the part period. Expenditure on energy is in fact so small compared to other household expenditures that a further reduction (if possible) would not greatly improve the household nutrition situation. While the present energy situation does not force people to undertake measures that threaten their health or well-being, it is clear that more energy could be used in order to improve it, for instance by boiling drinking water. 35 refs, 4 figs, 18 tabs}
place = {Sweden}
year = {1994}
month = {Dec}
}
title = {Household energy and nutrition. A study of low-income households in Lusaka}
author = {Chiw, P, Muchelemba, J B, Siamwiza, R J, and Ellegaard, A}
abstractNote = {This study was conducted to investigate and provide empirical evidence on energy scarcity and its possible implications on the well-being of the family. A primary aim was to find out if people perceive a household fuel scarcity. Another aim was to determine whether such a scarcity could be expected to affect the nutrition or well-being of the family. Since women are generally responsible for the life-preserving activities in the household, women in low-income families in Lusaka formed the target group. Charcoal is the main source of energy for cooking for the majority of the urban middle and low income families. It is also the main fuel used for heating water for bathing. Over 90% of the population in the study area used charcoal for cooking. People use charcoal primarily it is readily available. It is the men who are mostly responsible for purchasing the charcoal, as for most of the other household purchases. No household fuel scarcity was evidenced. On the contrary, the vast majority of the respondents (95%) did not consider charcoal expensive compared to other household expenditures like food, housing, clothing, etc. Charcoal was found to represent only a small fraction of household expenditure on food items. It is concluded that energy expenditure is not a major issue in the household economy. Requirements appear to be met. Charcoal prices in real terms have been stable or even declining over the part period. Expenditure on energy is in fact so small compared to other household expenditures that a further reduction (if possible) would not greatly improve the household nutrition situation. While the present energy situation does not force people to undertake measures that threaten their health or well-being, it is clear that more energy could be used in order to improve it, for instance by boiling drinking water. 35 refs, 4 figs, 18 tabs}
place = {Sweden}
year = {1994}
month = {Dec}
}