Role of personal network attributes in adoption of clean stoves among Congolese refugees in Rwanda

Social networks can play an important role in influencing uptake of new technologies, especially within limited resource settings. This study explored the association of personal network attributes on adoption of a clean (tier 4+) cookstove technology by Congolese women living in a Rwandan refugee camp. This study was conducted within the context of an on-going randomized controlled trial (RCT) where women were offered the opportunity to take advantage of a camp program where free clean cookstoves were provided with a subscription to pellets that could be paid for by a cash for fuel program provided by the camp administration. Network size, number of peers living inside the camp (camp homogeneity) and number of peers having already adopted a clean cookstove (clean cookstove homogeneity) were examined at baseline and at six-months follow-up. When clean cookstoves were distributed on a first come, first serve basis, early adopters were more likely to have peers with a tier 4+ cookstove (OR 7.36 (CI 4.83–11.23), p < 0.01) and less likely to have only peers living inside the camp (OR 0.29 (CI 0.13–0.60), p < 0.01). Following this, clean cookstoves were randomly offered explicitly to a select group of the remaining camp residents who were not early adopters. Using two-wave panel data, the association between adoption and change in personal network attributes were analyzed after adjusting for potential confounders and the randomization process. In these analyses, clean cookstove homogeneity was significantly associated with clean cookstove adoption in the unadjusted (OR = 1.31, CI: 1.13–1.52, p < 0.001) and adjusted models (OR = 1.22, CI: 1.02–1.45, p < 0.05), suggesting that personal network attributes played a significant role in clean cookstove adoption, over and above the randomized encouragement to adopt the cookstove. The power of social networks is an untapped influence on technology adoption and should be more effectively integrated in future research and programs.