Experimental Design
The core intervention (denoted T below) consists of 1,000 randomly selected clients receiving a free Electric Pressure Cooker (EPC). The EPCs are worth around 70usd in Kenya and Tanzania and are not available in Eastern DRC at the start of the experiment. They will be distributed to beneficiaries during demonstration sessions organized by Virunga Foundation staff and extension workers (“ambassadors”). The demonstration sessions will include about 15 to 20 participants per session, and last around 2 hours. Staff, ambassadors, and participants will cook local recipes together. EPCs will be connected to electricity meters to show clients the actual energy usage of the cookers. Participants will share the meals they cooked together, allowing them to taste the food cooked with the EPC. Each participant is assigned to a specific ambassador who will assist and monitor them in the first two months. A second group of 500 randomly selected clients will not receive a cooker, and serve as the control group (C).
We will further randomize EPC beneficiaries in four treatment arms to explore mechanisms of adoption:
2.1.1 EPC with electricity voucher (“V1”): Households in V1 receive a 5usd (20kwh) voucher of free electricity for their meter. This
treatment arm intends to allow beneficiaries to try the cooker for about 25 meals without enduring any monetary cost, hence allowing them to continue buying charcoal in case they are not satisfied with the EPC.
2.1.2 No voucher (“V0”): Participants in V0 receive the EPC during a demonstration session (our core intervention), but do not receive a 5usd voucher of free electricity
2.3.1 Pro-social preferences – Nudge (“N1”): During the demonstration sessions, a module of around 30 minutes will detail to participants the consequences of charcoal production on the conservation of VNP (deforestation and destruction of habitats for flagship species, including Mountain Gorillas and Chimpanzees) and the impact of illegal charcoal production on the revenues of armed militias. This module will be designed with Virunga’s Environmental Education department and conducted by experienced rangers.
To reinforce the impact of the nudge, a small sticker designed by a local artist will be put on theEPC. The sticker will convey a simple message around the benefits of using eCooking instead of illegal
charcoal to protect the environment and promote peace.
2.3.2 Pro-social preferences -Control (“N0”): Participants in N0 receive the EPC during a demonstration session (our core intervention), but not the nudge.
To avoid contamination between treatment arms, all participants in a given demonstration session will be assigned to the same treatment arm ({V0, N0}, {V0, N1}, {V1, N0}, {V1, N1\}), and randomization will be done based on spatial clusters. In addition, ambassadors will also be assigned to a single treatment arm.