Assessment of rural energy needs in Hilkot watershed Pakistan
Assessment of rural energy needs in Hilkot watershed Pakistan
Abdul Qayyum Khan, Bashir Ahmad Wani, Hakim Shah and S. Irfanullah
ABSTRACT
Rural energy survey was conducted in the Hilkot watershed communities in order to assess the energy needs for consumptive (household and commercial) and productive purposes (rural cottage industry, agriculture). Questionnaire, interview and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools were used to carry out this survey. According to the survey results, firewood emerged as the largest source of energy used for cooking and heating. The consumption of firewood was 2.35 maunds/household/week. Annually each person consumes 1.13 tons of firewood for cooking and heating. Among the other sources of energy, kerosene oil and natural gas were being consumed at the rate of 1.83 liters and 3.29 kilograms/household/week. A major portion of a household annual income ranging between 29% and 47% is spent on fuel for cooking, heating and lighting only. On the average, household in the watershed spends Rs.721 monthly on fire wood procurement Women play a key role in energy resources control and utilization. With the exception of blacksmiths and food caterers, the cottage industries have no additional impact on energy consumption other than the normal household fuel consumption.
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June 2001
Vol. 51, Iss. 2
