Large electric pressure cookers in schools: evidence from Lesotho

<p dir="ltr">Executive summary:</p><p dir="ltr">This report provides results of a pilot project introducing energy-efficient Electric Pressure Cookers in peri-<br>urban schools of Lesotho as part of the school feeding programme. This project was led by WFP's Country<br>Office in Lesotho with funding from WFP’s Innovation Accelerator (INKA).</p><p dir="ltr"><br>This report explores the potential of modern energy cooking systems using large EPCs to cook and prepare school meals in Lesotho instead of relying on traditional biomass or fossil fuel-based cooking solutions. It assesses the hypothesis that cooking with EPCs in schools brings good value for money in addition to health, environment, and gender co-benefits.</p><p dir="ltr"><br>Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to better understand the cooking practices, challenges of<br>cooking large portions of food for schools, energy consumption, time spent on cooking and the social<br>impacts of introducing EPCs in five schools in peri-urban areas of Maseru, Lesotho. The data was collected<br>over six months, from January to July 2022, first conducting a baseline before the introduction of EPCs and<br>a follow-up study thereafter.</p><p dir="ltr"><br>Across selected schools, data analysis shows that schools were able to serve the same types of food such as porridge (porridge’s main ingredient across the schools was either super cereal or maize or sorghum), papa (it is a stiff porridge made from maize or corn), samp (it is a dish made from dried corn kernels that have been pounded and chopped until broken), rice, vegetables, beans, fish, eggs, etc. before and after the introduction of EPCs. The cost of cooking fuel per student using an EPC is approximately one third the cost of using LPG, and one sixth the cost of using firewood. Results from the schools using LPG show a cost reduction of up to 69% by adopting EPCs. The cost savings reached 95% switching from firewood to EPCs at Leqele school. The cost savings of cooking with an EPC is due to its higher energy efficiency compared to firewood and LPG.</p><p dir="ltr"><br>The report also analysed time spent on cooking. Results suggest that the use of EPC saves cooks time compared to other fuels. On daily basis, transitioning to EPC saved approximately 35% of the cooking time. This is equivalent to more than one hour. Furthermore, using an EPC allowed teachers at Star Classic to focus on teaching as they could safely leave it while cooking using the automatic timer. Besides cost and time savings, there were other co benefits of using EPC highlighted by users in the evaluation survey. They reported that cooking with EPCs is safer, healthier, and provides a better physical working environment.</p>