ABSTRACT
A growing body of experience with woodfuel initiatives has suggested that some of the more conventional views of woodfuel supply and demand, in this chapter referred to as woodfuel orthodoxy, have been far too simplistic in suggesting how households in developing economies are able to adapt to constraints related to domestic energy consumption. In circumstances when woodfuels are genuinely scarce, and when tree planting is encouraged as a response to fuel scarcities, trees often assume much higher economic values to the farmer; consequently, tree planting may have little or no impact on reducing the household's reliance on agricultural residues. Although woodfuel demands may sometimes contribute to deforestation, woodfuel scarcity can become most critical as an outcome of deforestation. Communal cooking has become an important social focus for women in small communities. Tree resources are of fundamental importance to farming systems, and rural people may become much more involved in tree planting or management when trees become scarce.
