By Dr. Amita Bhakta (Independent Researcher) Divya Wesley, Krishna Keshavani and Katha Bhatt (Prabhat Education Foundation)
This blog was originally published on the Modern Energy Cooking Services website and is available here.
By Dr Amita Bhakta (Independent Researcher), Divya Wesley, Krishna Keshavani and Katha Bhatt (Prabhat Education Foundation)
This blog is part of a series documenting the nuanced learnings from Phase II of the Accessible Energy study for People with Disabilities initiative, implemented in Ahmedabad, India, with 19 households with people with disabilities. The series explores the multiple factors that influence their transition from traditional cooking methods to e-cooking appliances.
This collaborative research conducted by the Prabhat Education Foundation and Dr. Amita Bhakta, an Independent Researcher, delves into the impact of eCooking on the wellbeing of individuals with disabilities (PwDs) and their caregivers in Ahmedabad, India. It explores routes for the inclusion of PwDs in the eCooking transition through policy modifications and mechanisms that facilitate both the universal design of appliances and support for their accessibility and utilization.
The study used participatory methods including cooking diaries, interviews, PhotoVoice, surveys, in-field follow-ups, drawings, and participatory workshops to highlight PwDs and caregivers’ experiences, inherently influenced by the socio-cultural contexts in which PwDs and their families are situated. Collaborative research and peer learning strategies through inclusive co-learning platforms are key the integration of PwDs in eCooking initiatives. Through dedicated workshops and social media messaging applications, participants engaged in sharing experiences, fostering peer support, cross-disability interactions, and enhanced community social capital. The research involved the development of accessible audio, tele, and video cooking diaries tailored for PwDs and their caregivers.
Key findings
- Accessible household kitchen infrastructure is a prerequisite to inclusion. Kitchens need to be modified for PwDs to use eCooking appliances, using measures such as lower plug points and switchboards, customised storage units, and accessible platforms. Limited square footage in the home can force PwDs to relocate eCooking equipment after each use, which can necessitate assistance from others.
- Technical support and maintenance infrastructure are required for long-term sustainability for eCooking and disability programmes. As local repair facilities for specialised eCooking devices are often unavailable, providing timely guidance and establishing a reliable maintenance system is key to ensuring the success of disability-inclusive eCooking programmes.
- Transitions to eCooking are diverse and non-linear, shaped intrinsically by psychosocial factors, eCooking experiences for PwDs are shaped by senses of independence, confidence, overcoming fear, motivation to learn, functional demand, reclaimed time, reassurance from others, trust in the appliances and a sense of happiness and modernity. The role of men and boys is significant in including women with disabilities in eCooking.
- Universal design in eCooking appliances to ensure the inclusion of PwDs is key, and can be facilitated through audible alerts, audio descriptions, tactile markers, and simplified interfaces to improve accessibility.
Recommendations
The following key recommendations emerged from the research:
- Facilitate universal design in eCooking technologies through measures such as labels in local languages (e.g. Gujarati, Hindi), braille labels, audio cues, talking features, pictorial representation, tactile markers and using lighter materials.
- Create experience centres for PwDs to test eCooking products.
- Consider health and ergonomics in eCooking appliance design to support PwDs to use them.
- Collect data on energy access, cooking and disability to help to create standards for kitchen design to support inclusive eCooking.
- Provide government policy and programme support for PwDs to access eCooking technologies by establishing a reliable maintenance system, raising awareness about eCooking using India’s Unique Disability ID portal, and providing financial support through The Assistance to Disabled Persons (ADIP) Scheme, National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation/ National Divyangjan Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC), and the Samarth Scheme (The National Trust). State-level schemes such as Gujarat’s Divyang Sadhan Sahay Yojana (Gujarat Social Defence) and Sant Surdas Yojana should also be used.
- The new supreme court ruling on the right of PwDs to digital accessibility should include eCooking devices.
- Financial mechanisms are needed to facilitate economic empowerment of PwDs through eCooking.
- Awareness and consideration of cultural factors is needed to expand access to eCooking for PwDs.
- Advocacy and awareness-raising through inter-sectoral approaches is needed to shed light on the importance of eCooking for PwDs at a government level.
- Capacity building and training is needed to encourage PwDs to engage in eCooking.
This study reveals how eCooking for people with disabilities is fundamentally shaped by access, agency, and energy justice. Cross-sector efforts to advance inclusive eCooking practices, advocate for universal design principles, facilitate supportive technologies, and develop comprehensive policy measures are needed to include PwDs in the eCooking transition. Access the full report, Inclusive eCooking and Disability: Rethinking Access, Agency and Energy Justice .