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.
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.
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…
The primary goal of this project was to evaluate the effects of four behavior change interventions in Kenya, Bangladesh, and Nigeria on the purchase of modern cookstoves and fuels as well as determinants of behaviors, such as knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and intentions. The interventions used behavior change communications (BCC) that aimed to accelerate clean cooking markets by increasing awareness and…
Berkeley Air supported the Gaia Association and the Clean Cooking Alliance to assess the impacts of scaling up ethanol and charcoal briquette programs in the UNHCR refugee camps near Assosa in Western Ethiopia. The primary research goals were to measure changes in carbon monoxide and particular matter in homes after the introduction of an ethanol cookstove and to characterize cookstove…
Berkeley Air Monitoring Group trained and led local staff to collect field data to assess effectiveness of several improved stoves in reducing indoor air pollution and personal exposure. The team characterized dimensions of acceptability and sustainability of those improved cooking technologies and their impact on indoor air quality and child health in rural Western Kenya.