Impact evaluation in the field: A case study on the evaluation of an improved cookstove initiative in rural Guatemala

Improved cookstoves (ICS) have been distributed by many in the international development community to address the dangers faced by billions of people worldwide who use traditional open-fire cooking methods. Yet, impact... [ view full abstract ]

Improved cookstoves (ICS) have been distributed by many in the international development community to address the dangers faced by billions of people worldwide who use traditional open-fire cooking methods. Yet, impact evaluations of these ICS interventions have not always shown positive impacts. This case study followed an ICS adoption study conducted by a non-governmental organization in two communities of rural Guatemala. The intent of this case study was to incorporate qualitative methods to improve the understanding of the ICS intervention and the feedback from household users of the product that the NGO was able to receive about the desirability of their product. Data was collected from household surveys, participant observation and semi-structured interviews. It was observed that the NGO team was given positive verbal feedback about the desirability of the ICS that they had been donated, despite observation that the ICS was not meeting the needs of their households. Considering this phenomenon using a lens informed by sociological theory and Bourdieu’s concepts of social space and the habitus, this research suggests that power dynamics impacted communication between the research team, NGO staff and the community members, and caused the NGO staff to expect higher ICS adoption rates than were observed. This suggests a need for further research on the impact of social power dynamics when evaluating impact of technological interventions in the international context.