Sources of cooking fuel

Cooking fuel

The type of fuel used for cooking has implications for development. Lack of access to clean sources of energy is a major impediment to development through health related complications such as increased respiratory infections and air pollution. The type of cooking fuel used by households is related to the socio-economic status of households/individuals (Figure 6.2). High level energy sources are cleaner but cost more and are used by households with higher levels of income compared with simpler sources of fuel, mainly firewood, which are mainly used by households with a lower socio-economic profile.

Figure 6.2: Energy sources and socioeconomic status

Table 6.16 indicates that 64.4 percent of the households in the country use firewood as the main source of fuel, followed by charcoal (17.0 percent) and paraffin (11.7 percent). The use of high level energy sources is highest in urban areas for both male and female headed households at 15.4 percent and 16.0 percent respectively. Due to better service delivery and a higher disposable income in urban areas than in rural areas, most urban households transition to clean energy sources faster than those in rural areas. However, high populations in informal settlements experience the challenge of slow transition.

Table 6.16: Main cooking fuel, national, rural and urban by gender of household head

Name	High source				Transition		Primitive		Households
Name	Electricity	Solar	LPG	Biogas	Paraffin	Charcoal	Firewood	Other	Households
Total
Kenya	0.8	0.1	5.1	0.7	11.7	17.0	64.4	0.3	8,493,380
Rural	0.2	0.1	0.6	0.3	1.4	7.1	90.3	0.1	5,239,879
Urban	1.8	0.0	12.3	1.4	28.3	32.8	22.7	0.6	3,253,501
Male headed households
Kenya	0.9	0.1	5.3	0.8	13.5	17.7	61.4	0.4	5,762,320
Rural	0.2	0.1	0.6	0.3	1.6	7.5	89.6	0.1	3,413,616
Urban	1.9	0.0	12.0	1.4	30.9	32.5	20.4	0.7	2,348,704
Female headed households
Kenya	0.6	0.0	4.6	0.7	7.9	15.5	70.6	0.1	2,731,060
Rural	0.1	0.0	0.5	0.3	1.0	6.5	91.5	0.1	1,826,263
Urban	1.6	0.0	13.0	1.5	21.7	33.6	28.5	0.3	904,797

The proportion of female headed households in urban areas who use primitive energy sources is higher at 28.8 percent than that for urban male headed households at 20.4 percent. However, higher numbers in male headed households means that, in urban areas, 498,000 male headed households use primitive fuels compared with 260,000 female headed households.

Factors contributing to the differentiated use of various sources of fuel include ease of access to fuel type such as firewood in rural areas, availability of distribution infrastructure for electricity, and income levels. The users of fuel-based lighting items such as lanterns often place them in close proximity, leading to inhalation of indoor pollutants. Emissions resulting from burning kerosene include carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde, and various VOCs (volatile organic carbons). Harmful effects include injury and infections of the respiratory system and carbon monoxide poisoning in kerosene fuel burning products.

The use of transition fuels is concentrated in counties close to the central areas of the country (see figure 6.3) compared with areas in the north eastern part of the country. This can be attributed to better infrastructure facilities such as higher connectivity of transport systems in the central regions and availability and lower cost of firewood in the north eastern region.

In four counties, namely Nairobi (27.6), Kiambu (15.5), Kajiado (15.0) and Mombasa (12.8), the use of high level energy sources is significantly above the national average of 6.6 percent (Table 6.17). Marsabit, Tana River, West Pokot counties at 0.6 percent and Mandera County at 0.5 percent have the lowest proportion of households using high level energy sources.

The use of transition fuels is highest in counties that have a high urban population, with the top three counties being Mombasa (79.5), Nairobi (70.4), and Kiambu (48.9). Paraffin (a transition fuel) is a significant part of households’ expenditures for cooking in the country in both poor households, constituting 60 percent of expenditure, and non-poor households at 40 percent of expenditure (KNBS, 2008).

Figure 6.3: Household access to cooking fuel by type and county

Primitive fuels (firewood, animal waste and agricultural waste) for cooking are least used in Nairobi (2.0 percent) and Mombasa (7.7 percent) and highest in Wajir (95.3 percent), Mandera (93.7 percent) and Bomet (92.1 percent).

Table 6.17: Main cooking fuel by county

High		Transition		Primitive
Top 10 counties
Nairobi County	27.6	Mombasa County	79.5	Wajir County	95.3
Kiambu County	15.5	Nairobi County	70.4	Mandera County	93.7
Kajiado County	15.0	Kiambu County	48.9	Bomet County	92.1
Mombasa County	12.8	Nakuru County	47.6	Marsabit County	91.8
Nakuru County	6.4	Kajiado County	43.7	West Pokot County	91.5
Uasin-Gishu County	6.3	Uasin-Gishu County	38.8	Vihiga County	91.2
Nyeri County	6.0	Kisumu County	36.5	Nyamira County	90.8
Kisumu County	4.9	Isiolo County	31.8	Elgey-Marakwet County	90.5
Laikipia County	4.6	Laikipia County	28.8	Nandi County	89.2
Machakos County	4.4	Taita-Taveta County	28.5	Tharaka Nithi County	89.1
Median county
Narok County	1.7	Siaya County	16.3	Tana River County	81.9
Bottom 10 counties
Busia County	1.0	Nandi County	9.5	Kilifi County	67.7
Bomet County	0.9	Tharaka Nithi County	9.2	Laikipia County	66.5
Samburu County	0.8	Elgey-Marakwet County	8.8	Isiolo County	65.2
Elgey-Marakwet County	0.7	Nyamira County	8.0	Kisumu County	58.7
Wajir County	0.7	West Pokot County	7.9	Uasin-Gishu County	54.9
Turkana County	0.7	Marsabit County	7.6	Nakuru County	45.9
Marsabit County	0.6	Vihiga County	7.5	Kajiado County	41.3
Tana River County	0.6	Bomet County	7.0	Kiambu County	35.7
West Pokot County	0.6	Mandera County	5.8	Mombasa County	7.7
Mandera County	0.5	Wajir County	4.0	Nairobi County	2.0

Female headed households in Nairobi County have the highest access to advanced fuel energy at 32.6 percent, 6.6 percentage points more than their male counterparts (Table 6.18).

The use of a high level energy source is 81 times less likely in a female headed household in Marsabit, Tana River, West Pokot and Samburu Counties than in a female headed household in Nairobi. There are small differences in the proportion of households using advanced fuels, compared to transition and primitive fuels between male and female headed households notably in Kisumu, Kajiado and Machakos.

Table 6.18: Main cooking fuel by county and gender of household head

Male headed						Female headed						Percentage Difference (male % less female)
High		Transition		Primitive		High		Transition		Primitive		High		Transition		Primitive
County	%	County	%	County	%	County	%	County	%	County	%	County	Diff	County	Diff	County	Diff
Top 10 counties
Nairobi	26.0	Mombasa	80.3	Wajir	95.6	Nairobi	32.6	Mombasa	76.7	Wajir	93.9	Kajiado	3.1	Kisumu	17.8	Garissa	11.4
Kajiado	16.0	Nairobi	71.9	Mandera	94.5	Kiambu	15.6	Nairobi	65.5	Marsabit	93.1	Kisumu	1.8	Kajiado	14.8	Mandera	4.8
Kiambu	15.4	Kiambu	51.2	Bomet	92.3	Mombasa	14.9	Nakuru	43.6	West Pokot	92.8	Machakos	1.6	Machakos	10.5	Kirinyaga	2.9
Mombasa	12.2	Nakuru	49.5	Marsabit	90.9	Kajiado	12.9	Kiambu	42.9	Vihiga	92.5	Isiolo	1.4	Siaya	8.5	Meru	2.7
Nakuru	6.4	Kajiado	48.3	West Pokot	90.8	Uasin-Gishu	6.9	Uasin-Gishu	35.0	Nyamira	91.9	Taita-Taveta	0.9	Kiambu	8.4	Tharaka Nithi	2.4
Uasin-Gishu	6.0	Kisumu	42.9	Elgey-Marakwet	90.4	Nakuru	6.6	Garissa	33.9	Bomet	91.7	Samburu	0.8	Migori	7.9	Wajir	1.7
Nyeri	6.0	Uasin-Gishu	40.4	Vihiga	90.3	Nyeri	6.0	Kajiado	33.5	Elgey-Marakwet	90.8	Narok	0.7	Homa Bay	7.7	Kericho	0.7
Kisumu	5.5	Isiolo	32.7	Nyamira	90.3	Kirinyaga	4.9	Isiolo	30.3	Kitui	90.8	Kisii	0.6	Kilifi	7.3	Bomet	0.6
Machakos	5.0	Kilifi	30.8	Tharaka Nithi	89.9	Laikipia	4.4	Lamu	26.2	Mandera	89.8	Migori	0.6	Samburu	7.3	Nandi	0.6
Laikipia	4.8	Laikipia	30.5	Nandi	89.4	Kilifi	3.8	Laikipia	25.8	Kisii	89.4	Lamu	0.6	Nairobi	6.4	Embu	0.5
Median county
Trans-Nzoia	1.7	Homa Bay	18.2	Homa Bay	80.6	Nyandarua	1.5	Samburu	14.1	Kwale	84.7	West Pokot	0.2	Nyeri	2.4	Nyeri	-2.4
Bottom 10 counties
Busia	1.0	Nandi	9.3	Laikipia	64.7	Busia	0.8	Mandera	9.7	Kisumu	71.2	Wajir	-0.1	Lamu	-0.5	Kwale	-6.1
Baringo	1.0	Elgey-Marakwet	8.8	Machakos	64.4	Siaya	0.8	Kisii	9.2	Laikipia	69.8	Embu	-0.1	Nandi	-0.6	Kilifi	-7.5
Bomet	0.9	West Pokot	8.5	Isiolo	63.8	Wajir	0.7	Elgey-Marakwet	8.6	Isiolo	67.5	Tharaka Nithi	-0.1	Bomet	-0.7	Homa Bay	-8.1
Elgey-Marakwet	0.8	Tharaka Nithi	8.4	Uasin-Gishu	53.6	Elgey-Marakwet	0.6	Kitui	8.3	Garissa	64.4	Kiambu	-0.2	Kericho	-0.7	Samburu	-8.1
Turkana	0.8	Nyamira	8.4	Kisumu	51.5	Mandera	0.5	Bomet	7.5	Uasin-Gishu	58.1	Nakuru	-0.3	Wajir	-1.6	Kiambu	-8.2
Marsabit	0.7	Marsabit	8.4	Nakuru	44.2	Turkana	0.5	Nyamira	7.2	Kajiado	53.6	Meru	-0.4	Kirinyaga	-1.8	Migori	-8.5
Wajir	0.7	Vihiga	8.2	Kajiado	35.7	Marsabit	0.4	West Pokot	6.8	Nakuru	49.8	Uasin-Gishu	-0.9	Meru	-2.3	Siaya	-8.9
Tana River	0.6	Bomet	6.8	Kiambu	33.4	Tana River	0.4	Vihiga	6.5	Kiambu	41.6	Kirinyaga	-1.1	Tharaka Nithi	-2.3	Machakos	-12.1
West Pokot	0.6	Mandera	5.0	Mombasa	7.5	West Pokot	0.4	Marsabit	6.5	Mombasa	8.4	Mombasa	-2.6	Mandera	-4.8	Kajiado	-17.9
Mandera	0.5	Wajir	3.7	Nairobi	2.1	Samburu	0.4	Wajir	5.4	Nairobi	1.9	Nairobi	-6.6	Garissa	-11.4	Kisumu	-19.6

Constituency level indicators show significant differences from the county level data on household access to the various sources of cooking fuel. While Embakasi West (57.2 percent), Langata (46.3 percent) and Roysambu (41.9 percent) constituencies have the highest use of high level energy sources (Table 6.19). Very few households in Loima (0.2 percent) and Sigor (0.1 percent) constituencies use high level energy sources. In the bottom 10 constituencies, electricity use is non-existent in households and LPG, biogas and solar options are only available to a few households.

Similarly, the use of transition fuels is significantly higher in some constituencies than the national average of 28.5 percent. Mathare (88.1 percent), Changamwe (87.7 percent) and Ruaraka (87 percent) constituencies have the highest proportion of households using transition fuels for cooking compared with Tarbaj at 0.8 percent. Use of primitive fuels is higher than 90 percent in 94 constituencies, with the bottom 10 constituencies in use of these fuels based in Nairobi County. The use of transition fuels (paraffin and charcoal) and primitive fuels are dominant in both urban and rural areas.

Table 6.19: Main cooking fuel for cooking by constituency

High energy source		Transition		Primitive
Top 10 constituencies
Embakasi West	57.2	Mathare	88.1	Tarbaj	98.7
Langata	46.3	Changamwe	87.7	North Horr	98.5
Roysambu	41.9	Ruaraka	87.0	Mandera West	98.2
Starehe	39.4	Embakasi North	86.3	Lafey	98.2
Dagoreti North	37.3	Likoni	85.4	Lagdera	98.0
Embakasi East	37.0	Kibra	83.8	Mandera South	97.9
Westlands	36.2	Embakasi South	82.9	Wajir North	97.9
Kasarani	31.9	Nakuru Town West	82.1	Wajir West	97.9
Kajiado North	31.7	Kamukunji	80.3	Kacheliba	97.8
Mvita	30.9	Kisumu Central	79.8	Wajir South	97.7
Median constituency
Taveta	1.4	Makueni	13.8	Makueni	85.0
Bottom 10 constituencies
Ijara	0.3	Kacheliba	1.9	Starehe	1.5
Turkana East	0.3	Wajir South	1.7	Kibra	1.3
Laisamis	0.3	Wajir North	1.7	Mathare	1.2
North Horr	0.3	Wajir West	1.6	Ruaraka	1.2
Emurua Dikirr	0.3	Mandera South	1.6	Makadara	1.2
Turkana North	0.2	Lagdera	1.6	Embakasi West	1.1
Kacheliba	0.2	Lafey	1.5	Dagoreti North	1.0
Samburu North	0.2	Mandera West	1.4	Embakasi North	1.0
Loima	0.2	North Horr	1.3	Embakasi Central	0.9
Sigor	0.1	Tarbaj	0.8	Embakasi South	0.8

Gender based analysis of the use of various sources of cooking fuel at constituencies (Table 6.20) indicates a similar trend in variations between male and female headed households as at county level.

Table 6.20: Main cooking fuel by constituency and gender of household head

High energy source				Transition				Primitive
Constituency	Male	Female	Difference	Constituency	Male	Female	Difference	Constituency	Male	Female	Difference
Top 10 constituencies
Kajiado West	8.0	4.1	3.89	Kisumu East	65.7	43.7	22.04	Mandera East	71.9	59.7	12.3
Narok West	4.8	1.4	3.46	Kajiado Central	41.1	24.0	17.06	Igembe South	79.1	72.2	6.9
Mumias West	7.7	4.5	3.21	Langata	54.2	38.6	15.60	South Imenti	85.1	78.3	6.7
Muhoroni	4.3	1.8	2.51	Awendo	28.5	13.2	15.27	Garissa Township	23.6	17.3	6.3
Isiolo North	4.9	2.7	2.24	Kisumu West	31.6	16.7	14.94	Kirinyaga Central	75.7	71.6	4.1
Awendo	4.5	2.4	2.01	Bondo	34.4	19.6	14.76	Maara	91.0	87.1	3.9
Wundanyi	3.9	1.9	1.98	Suba North	30.1	16.2	13.96	Bureti	89.1	85.5	3.6
Laikipia North	3.0	1.4	1.60	Kajiado West	28.6	14.8	13.80	Mwea	66.6	63.3	3.3
Kajiado East	13.7	12.1	1.57	Muhoroni	27.5	14.1	13.31	Central Imenti	92.9	89.9	3.1
Kajiado Central	3.7	2.1	1.56	Dagoreti North	64.9	51.6	13.29	Gichugu	89.4	86.5	2.9
Median constituency
Mukurwe-Ini	1.9	1.7	0.14	Kitutu Chache North	4.9	3.0	1.82	Mavoko	11.7	13.3	-1.6
Bottom 10 constituencies
Nakuru Town West	8.0	12.6	(4.51)	Mwea	29.8	32.2	(2.36)	Homa Bay Town	57.2	70.7	-13.5
Nyali	14.2	19.5	(5.33)	Bomet Central	10.2	12.6	(2.46)	Samburu West	61.2	74.9	-13.7
Kajiado North	30.3	36.2	(5.91)	Chuka/Igambangombe	11.7	14.4	(2.66)	Suba North	68.6	83.0	-14.4
Embakasi East	35.2	43.0	(7.75)	Central Imenti	5.8	8.8	(2.96)	Bondo	64.2	79.3	-15.1
Embakasi South	14.9	22.9	(8.01)	Bureti	9.4	12.9	(3.43)	Muhoroni	68.3	84.1	-15.8
Makadara	27.9	36.6	(8.70)	Maara	7.1	10.7	(3.57)	Kisumu West	65.1	81.0	-15.9
Starehe	36.9	46.3	(9.41)	Igembe South	18.3	24.1	(5.82)	Awendo	67.1	84.4	-17.3
Kibra	12.8	23.4	(10.57)	South Imenti	13.0	19.0	(6.08)	Kajiado West	63.4	81.1	-17.7
Dagoreti North	34.0	47.6	(13.59)	Garissa Township	71.3	79.0	(7.66)	Kajiado Central	55.2	73.9	-18.6
Langata	42.1	59.3	(17.23)	Mandera East	27.0	39.5	(12.46)	Kisumu East	30.6	52.7	-22.1

Date And Time

NATIONAL REPORT

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