Biofuel consumption rates and patterns in Kenya

A questionnaire survey was conducted in rural and urban Kenya to establish biofuel consumption rates and patterns. The survey targeted households, com mercial catering enterprises and public institutions such as schools and co lleges. Firewood was the main biofuel used, mostly by rural households, who consumed the commodity at average consumption rates in the range 0.8-2.7 k g cap(-1) day(-1). Charcoal was mostly consumed by the urban households at weighted average rates in the range 0.18-0.69 kg cap(-1) day(-1). The consu mption rates and patterns for these fuels by restaurants and academic insti tutions, and those for crop residues are also reported. The rates largely d epended on the fuel availability but differed significantly among the three consumer groups and between rural and urban households. Other factors whic h may have influenced consumption rates are discussed. Although good fuelwo od sufficiency was reported in the country in 1997, there were increasing d ifficulties in accessing these resources by most households, a situation ha ving both short- and long-term implications for biofuel consumption rates a nd patterns. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.