Determinants of the use natural of the natural gas for cooking in Temeke and Kinondoni Municipalities in Dar es Salaam

Generally, this study aimed at examining determinants of the use of natural gas for cooking in Temeke and Kinondoni Municipalities in Dar es Salaam. Specifically, in four objectives, this study sought to determine the influence of affordability, awareness, household size, and gender on the use of natural gas for cooking in Temeke and Kinondoni Municipalities. The study used a qualitative approach. It applied in-depth interview to collect primary data from 33 participants including planning officers (Ministry of Energy, TPDC, and Temeke and Kinondoni Municipalities), gas users and suppliers, as well as charcoal users and suppliers. Documents such as natural gas policies, journals, books, and reports were reviewed to complement the primary data collected through interviews. Then the tape recorded data were transcribed, coded, and quoted in themes. It was established that although natural gas usage for cooking has various benefits such as cost-effectiveness, time-saving, less emitting of hazardous carbon dioxide which put it environmentally friendly, the majority of households' in Tanzania did not use it for cooking. However, in spite of being cheap and efficient than other sources of energy, the attached high costs of installation and the undeveloped infrastructures for domestic natural gas supply, detached most of the households from using natural gas as they failed to access the gas and afford the costs of installation. It was also found out that lack of awareness influenced the use of natural gas for cooking. For instance, it was revealed that majority of households perceived that, natural gas is very dangerous and explosive if not handled properly. They also avoided using natural gas because of the fear of losing their properties and beloved once. Also, the study showed that most families with large household size were poor. Their poverty limited them from using natural gas for cooking as they did not have enough money to pay for natural gas system installations. Furthermore, the study revealed that female-headed families much more used natural gas than male-headed families. It was observed that employed women, with much income than men, were found using natural gas than any other source of cooking energies.It was therefore recommended that awareness campaigns, development of infrastructures for domestic gas supply and subsidizing the installation costs should be prioritized to ensure that most households in Tanzania have access to natural gas for cooking. This study is qualitative in nature basing on Temeke and Kinondoni Municipalities. Thus, future research should use a quantitative approach to explore the in-depth understanding of the determinants of natural gas use for cooking in Tanzania.