Towards smoke-free villages: shifting to clean cooking

Globally, billions of people live their lives without access to clean cooking solutions, and Asia is home to approximately 55% of the global population without access. However, in recent years, many countries have seen significant increases in their populations with access to electricity. In Cambodia, for example, approximately 96% of the population has access to electricity, and clean cooking products and appliances such as rice cookers and electric induction cookers are widely available. So why do so many households continue to cook with biomass, such as firewood, which has negative implications for their health and the local environment?

SNV is partnering with communities to understand local cooking practices and co-create pathways to healthier, clean cooking alternatives. Since 2020, through the Energising Development (EnDev) programme in Cambodia, SNV has implemented a behaviour change communication approach called Smoke Free Villages, yielding impressive results in encouraging clean cooking habits.

In a school in Banteay Meas district, Cambodia, children gather in their classrooms to start the day. Before lessons begin, the children and teachers discuss important messages to bring home to their parents:

• Keep children away from smoke while cooking.

• Cook in a well-ventilated location.

• Invest in clean cookstoves and fuels.

This activity is one of many promoted under the Smoke Free Village programme, which works through various community structures, including schools, health workers, local community and religious leaders, and the Commune Council for Women and Children.

Other activities in the programme include village meetings, smoke-free village days, cooking fairs, and door-to-door visits. Activities start by raising shared awareness of the impacts of cooking with biomass, then progress to introducing clean cooking options and promoting them as primary cooking solutions within the community. Local authorities closely monitor outcomes and coordination, and once a village reaches the target of 85% of households using clean cooking fuels, it is declared smoke-free, celebrated with a community event. Communes track progress using a monitoring framework showing that clean cooking habits (the primary fuel used in the household) have increased from 40% to 85% over 18 months.

During community visits, several factors were observed that seem to contribute to the success of this approach in engaging communities and positively influencing cooking practices:

• The behaviour change communication activities go beyond marketing or awareness creation, taking a systematic, sustained approach. This is not simply about promoting specific solutions but about understanding and working with local beliefs and practices to encourage less smoke exposure and environmental impact.

• Building on SNV’s work in the WASH sector in Cambodia has been beneficial. It has allowed teams to draw from Community-Led Total Sanitation approaches and introduce activities more quickly in communities where SNV has previously worked.

• A wide range of stakeholders, including schools, health workers, police officers, and other community and religious leaders, are involved, promoting strong commitment at all community levels.

• The community takes the lead in these activities, which fosters local ownership and pride in creating healthier, smoke-free spaces. The activities are designed to be engaging and enjoyable.

• Activities are sustained over time, reflecting the understanding that behaviour change takes time and adopting clean cooking practices is a gradual transition. Community members first learn about the impacts of biomass, then explore cleaner cooking appliances, and may take time to adopt them as primary options. The Smoke-Free Village approach recognises this and accommodates it in the design of activities and monitoring.

Behaviour change communication is an important part of the puzzle. When combined with complementary interventions and in contexts where clean cooking supply chains exist, it is proving a powerful factor in increasing the uptake of clean cooking solutions, both clean energy access and replacement of traditional fuels.  

Given the promising outcomes experienced under the Endev programme in Cambodia, the Smoke-Free Village is expanding to Laos, Nepal, and Mozambique. The health community is also increasingly recognising that air pollution from biomass fuels is a significant risk factor for non-communicable diseases, and SNV is exploring new collaborations with health partners.  

As the approach is replicated in other regions, new contexts may require adaption to cater for different community structures and supply chain maturity. Through our local presence and market systems approach, SNV is poised to build off the learning from Cambodia.