ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on domestic energy consumption in the Taita Hills, a rural agricultural area in southeastern Kenya. It presents necessary background information on the research setting, income generation strategies, social organization, and the study communities. The chapter suggests some central themes in David W. Brokensha’s approach to the anthropology of development. It also focuses on an assessment of people’s behavior and perceptions, with an underlying recognition that much can be understood by viewing these within a broadly ecological frame of reference. The most important relationships are revealed through multiple comparisons—across communities, agro-ecological zones, and socioeconomic strata—and some of the most significant relationships cannot be understood without addressing the sources and distribution of inequality within and among communities. The main uses of domestic energy include preparation of morning tea, preparation of the main meal, warmth at night, heating of bathwater, and light for conversation and reading in the evening.
