Our 6 Criteria

Our 6 Criteria

The new alternatives for cooking were chosen based on the following qualities:

• safe
• healthful
• accessible
• inexpensive
• socially acceptable
• sustainable

  
  

Each of these criteria were very important for evaluating cooking methods.  Any replacement or upgrade had to reduce emissions that are harmful to the people and the environment.  The cost needed to be in the realm of the current expenditures or less.  Along with the cost of a stove itself, efficiency of the product also affects its affordability since a highly efficient device will consume less energy and thus reduce the amount spent on energy. The accessibility of the stoves/materials and fuel was extremely important for the sustainability of the proposed solutions; if people had to travel far or carry heavy cans to get more of the fuel, they would have been less likely to continue using that proposed solution.  Ultimately, the community’s feedback and approval were the deciding factor for the feasibility of the alternatives.   These were the key factors that we had to take into consideration while completing our work.  Fully satisfying all six criteria was impossible, instead an optimal balance among them was sought.