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Electric cooking has the potential to improve quality of life for people who cook using biomass, both by improving health by eradicating harmful emissions and by removing the need to collect fuelwood, thus freeing up time for other activities. This paper reports on a study that introduced electric cooking as an alternative to biomass-based cooking in 10 households in Simli, a rural Western Nepali community, to assess its feasibility in rural off-grid contexts. Quantitative and qualitative data from a cooking diary study and electrical mini-grid data were collected, assessing the compatibility with micro-hydropower grids and Nepali cooking practices. Datasets of Nepali cooking practices and meal energy requirements were generated, revealing that generally two meals are cooked per day and that, on average, electric cooking consumes 0.25 kWh/day and 0.14 kWh/meal. Participants simplified their cooking practices and found chapati hard to cook on the induction hobs due to inexperience with the cookers. Conversely, dal and rice were found to be easy and fast to cook in pressure cookers on the hobs, leading to a switch from cooking chapati-vegetables based meals to dal-rice based meals. Fuel stacking was common, with participants reverting to their biomass stoves to cook chapati, and due to a lack of reliable electricity supply. Participants found that the transition to electric cooking provided more time for households, due to the reduction in length of time to cook a meal and less time required to collect firewood, and enjoyed cooking on the stoves due to elimination of indoor air pollution. The electrical data analysis showed that control issues, voltage instability, and limited micro-hydropower plant capacity provide obstacles for electric cooking, especially as it becomes more widely practiced. Nepali people typically cook at the same time as peak demand for electricity, exacerbating the problem of limited capacity in villages like Simli. Only three households continued to use their electric stoves regularly due to a lack of reliable electricity supply, showing that widespread adoption of electric cooking is currently unfeasible. The running costs of electric cooking were lower than the effective labour time costs of fuelwood collection, but initial capital expenses for the electric cooking system and monthly electricity costs are a further barrier to adoption in rural Nepal. • Electric cooking was trialled in ten households on a micro hydropower mini-grid. • Cooking diaries showed that Nepali cuisine is mostly compatible with induction hobs. • Dal and rice were easy to cook, with participants preferring the lack of smoke. • Fuel stacking was common, especially for cooking chapati and during power outages. • Considering equivalent cost, electric cooking is over 50% cheaper than fuelwood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Nepal, rapid urbanization and rural-to-urban migration especially due to internal civil conflict have catalyzed the development of temporary settlements, often along rivers on undeveloped land. This study conducted surveillance for viruses in small mammals and assessed potential risks for virus transmission to people in urban settlements along rivers in Kathmandu, Nepal. We collected samples from 411 small mammals (100 rodents and 311 shrews) at four riverside settlement sites and detected six viruses from four virus families including Thottapalayam virus; a strain of murine coronavirus; two new paramyxoviruses; and two new rhabdoviruses. Additionally, we conducted surveys of 264 residents to characterize animal-human contact. Forty-eight percent of individuals reported contact with wildlife, primarily with rodents and shrews (91%). Our findings confirm that rodents and shrews should be considered a health threat for residents of temporary settlements, and that assessment of disease transmission risk coupled with targeted surveillance for emerging pathogens could lead to improved disease control and health security for urban populations. Additionally, interventions focused on disease prevention should consider the unique urban ecology and social dynamics in temporary settlements, along with the importance of community engagement for identifying solutions that address specific multi-dimensional challenges that life on the urban river margins presents.