Terms of Reference for Baseline Study of Project ‘Enabling Households to Transition from Traditional Cooking Stoves and Fuels to Clean Alternatives’ (ETT) in Umarpada block of Surat District and Subir block of Dang District, Gujarat Background In rural India, cooking accounts for over 80% of the total household energy consumption with biomass as predominant cooking fuel, which along with firewood chips contribute to around 75% of cooking energy needs. Indoor air pollution occurring from the combustion of such biomass fuel in traditional cook stoves causes a significant public health hazard predominantly affecting poor rural population of the country. Many people are exposed daily to harmful emissions and other health risks during biomass burning, typically in low efficient traditional stoves having inadequate ventilation. Majority of those exposed to enhanced level of pollutants are women indulged in food preparation in kitchen, and infant/young children who spend time around these women near the cooking area. Broadly, use of traditional cook stove has great impact on health and, affect the household economy, women’s time and activities, gender roles and relations, safety and hygiene, as well as overall environment. It is estimated that half of the worldwide wood harvest is used as fuel. Further, in some rural settings, poor families spend significant fraction of household income to purchase biomass-based fuels or devote large fraction of household labor to collect fuels for cooking. Under such situations, use of Improved Cook Stove (ICS) has the multiple benefit of reduced exposure to toxic smoke, lowering the associated risk factors for disease, reduce forest degradation, address climate change, and cut down on the time that families - usually women and girls - spend cooking and collecting fuels, freeing up time for income-generating activities or school work for the girls. In the above context, CARE India is going to implement a project on clean alternative cooking solution in Umarpada, Surat district and Subir, Dang district of Gujarat. In both the locations, almost 80 percent of Households (HHs) are using traditional chulha with firewood as fuel for cooking. 10 percent population is completely using LPG and another 10 percent of population depends on LPG during specific situation like during monsoon or very hot summers. Thus, the poor and marginalized community from both Umarpada and Dang are predominantly traditional cookstove dependent for their cooking need and face various issues and challenges, which require interventions to be designed around the use of alternate clean energy options in a sustainable manner. Project Goal With this background, CARE India Solutions for Sustainable Development (CISSD) is implementing a project with a goal to promote transition of sustainable adoption of 6000 Traditional cook stove dependent households (TCDHs) to clean energy options, through a combination of capacity building, collectivization, market development, and multi-stakeholder engagement actions. Project Objectives The objectives of the project are as follows: 1. To increase awareness and adoption of ICS or any other clean energy options by women from TCDHs 2. To empower women from TCDHs to take an informed decision to transition to ICS and any other alternate clean cooking option 3. To improve sensitivity and responsiveness of men and key ICS supply chain stakeholders and financial products service providers to cater the needs of women for appropriate cooking solutions 4. To enhance a strong and inclusive ICS value chain (VC) 5. To promote a market led and women-centric ICS transition to clean energy advocated for large scale dissemination and replication. Project Location Page 1 of 8 The project will be implemented in selected villages of Umarpada block of Surat district and Subir block of Dang district in Gujarat. Names of potential villages from both the location listed below: Location Potential Villages Umarpada Haldhari, Sevlan, Vadpada, Chimipatal, Bilvan, Kashi, Umarjhar, Taval, Panch Amba, Khodamba, Pinpur, Darda, Umargot, Chokhvada, Divtan. Subir Karanjpada, Sepuamba, Pipaldahad, Uga, Hanwatpada, Chikhali, Vadpada, Pipladevi, Chidhpada, Harpada. Project Impact Group 6,000 TCDHs from underprivileged and marginalized communities (average 3,000 from each location), who are using traditional cook stove for meeting their cooking demands. This will result in direct well-being impact for 30,000 members (considering an average of 5 family persons per family) of their households. Indirectly, the initiative will impact another 4,000 TCDHs and their families in the larger community. Purpose of the Baseline As part of the project design, the project plans to undertake a comprehensive baseline study for establishing current status of the key indicators where key components of the project are concerned, to enable measurement of the project’s impact and outcomes, as committed in the project’s logical framework. Evaluation Questions The baseline and the final Evaluation will attempt to answer the following questions: 1. Whether women-centered model of ICS or any other clean cooking option for sustained adoption approach is effective in transitioning to clean energy? Is it a scalable model? How successful was the project in addressing the barriers affecting a) women-centered adoption b) willingness to adopt, c) control over decision-making on purchase? 2. Intervention Effectiveness: Is there enough evidence to suggest that SHE-school facilitated transitioning to ICS or any clean energy cooking options. 3. Sustainability: What are the evidences coming from baseline to provide insights that can contribute to improve program implementation and sustainability? Impact level Indicators % of TCDHs reduced traditional fuel use during the last week (preceding the survey) % of women saved cooking time @average hour/day on the previous day of survey % of TCDH with reduced monthly expenditure on any fuel used for cooking % of TCDH with reduced monthly expenditure on traditional cooking fuel % reduction in number of times TCDH women collecting firewood % reduction in number of hours used for fuel collection by TCDH women Outcome level indicators OBJECTIVE 1: To increase awareness and adoption of ICS or any other clean energy options by women from TCDHs % of TCDH women who becomes aware through Sustainable House Energy (SHE) school on any clean energy options for cooking? Page 2 of 8 % of TCDH women switch to clean energy option or adopting ICS % of TCDH, who have used ICS for cooking at least two meals per day during the last seven days OBJECTIVE 2: To empower women from TCDHs to take an informed decision to transition to ICS and any other alternate clean cooking option % of TCDH women who choose ICS or any other clean energy option to suit their cooking needs. % of women who have increased confidence level to influence on HH cooking energy decision making % of TCDH women who have mobilized or saved resources to procure ICS OBJECTIVE 3: To improve sensitivity and responsiveness of men and key ICS supply chain stakeholders and financial products service providers to cater the needs of women for appropriate cooking solutions % of TCDHs where men are aware of importance of clean energy cooking options % of men who are supportive (purchase of ICS) for clean energy cooking options No of TCDHs availed financial products for availing clean energy cooking options % of TCDH women receiving services from various supply chain actors related to ICS or any other clean energy cooking options OBJECTIVE 4: To enhance a strong and inclusive ICS value chain (VC) % TCDHs, who have connected with one of the ICS suppliers, available by the end of the project, to support and service ICS users in project villages No of TCDHs accessed services of ICS or any other alternate energy source manufacturer, dealers or suppliers. % of women from SHE school initiated their business plan with value chain actors % of individuals and groups, who started clean energy-related business/trade as ICS Entrepreneurs, with special focus on women OBJECTIVE 5: To promote a market led and women-centric ICS transition to clean energy advocated for large scale dissemination and replication Total number value chain actors present in project locations Study Design and Methodology The study will adopt quasi-experimental research design with a mixed-methodology approach for data collection. The quantitative study will be anchored by a household survey, covering a total sample size of 286 households in villages of Umarpada block of Surat district and Subir block of Dang district (143 in each block). This sample size is estimated at 95% confidence level and 5% margin of error. The study will also include a comparison area, which will be non-project villages of Umarpada block. The sample size for comparison area will be 143 households. Roughly 12 households should be selected from 12 intervention village to cover the proposed sample size. The data would be collected at the level of household, with women and men respondents from the same household as per the relevant sections in the tool. Page 3 of 8 A quick house-listing of all households in all intervention villages (in Umarpada and Subir) and comparison villages need to be conducted to get the universe for sampling in intervention locations. The selection of sample for the baseline survey should be made based on households which are using traditional cooking options. From the listed households, sample for the survey will