Berkeley Air is providing expertise to an exposure assessment for pregnant and new mothers in informal settlements in Nairobia, Kenya, as part of an implementation science program funded by USAID. The ultimate study goal is to produce an activity- and location-based characterization of exposures to air pollution for mothers and children. We are partnered with Jacaranda Health and Population Services…
Berkeley Air is a part of a research initiative to quantify the benefits provided by switching from traditional cooking technologies to biogas stoves in rural Kenya. We will be focusing specifically on health and gender impacts by monitoring personal exposure to pollutants and characterizing how participants spend their time after this energy transition.
In this project Berkeley Air measured and explored gender impacts, namely time use and levels of perceived drudgery, in female cooks after the installation of an improved wood burning stove. Using a mixed method approach, data was collected using focus group discussions, and quantitative and qualitative surveys, in 75 HH located in two rural communities in eastern Zambia. Indicators measured…
The core focus of this project was to develop and assess modeling approaches to estimate personal exposure in Kenyan homes where household fuel combustion contributes substantially to household air pollution. The models to be developed, further refined, and validated for the project will be valuable tools for policy-makers and researchers. The single-zone model at the core of this proposal is…
Kitchen Performance Testing Certification Training for DelAgua Rwanda, a social benefit organization
Members of Berkeley Air’s technical team traveled to Rwanda for two weeks in May and June of 2019 to complete a formal training in the Kitchen Performance Testing Protocol for roughly twenty District Managers at DelAgua Rwanda, a social benefit company interested in solutions for reducing household air pollution, and providing clean drinking water, among other initiatives. After a resounding…
Berkeley Air is leading a consortium to review RBF methodologies used for health, gender, and climate in the household energy sector. The methodological recommendations from that review will be applied to a field study quantifying the above-mentioned co-benefits of the Sistema Biogas program in rural Kenya. The review and practical experience will inform updates to RBF methods for World Bank…
Berkeley Air undertook a comprehensive assessment of fuel use and technology adoption of improved cookstoves and pellet fuels in 200 refugee households in Kigeme Camp, Rwanda. Berkeley Air utilized a cross-sectional mixed methods study design which included survey and instrument-based monitoring for households throughout the camp, including Inyenyeri’s customer base.
Berkeley Air conducted a rapid field test of an LPG intervention focused on households in per-urban Accra, Ghana. The team monitored ambient polllution, household air pollution, personal exposure to PM2.5, and stove usage through air pollution instrumentation and temperature-based sensing. Study results were used as inputs in the HAPIT modeling tool, to estimate health-focused impacts.
The purpose of this study was to assess changes in time use patterns for women in rural Kenya who received an intervention wood-fueled cookstove, considering their contributions toward the generation of household income, their household chores and child-rearing responsibilities, and any additional demands on their time and labor in a standard day. The study specifically focused on changes in time…
Berkeley Air was part of a consortium of partners exploring the effective promotion of ethanol-mathanol fuels for use in cooking in Western Africa. In-home field assessments were undertaken in an experimental sample of 30 households for up to 6 months. A combination of sensor-based stove-use measurements, canister refill monitoring, and household surveys were usedto measure uptake, use, and acceptability of…