## 1 Introduction  
In 2013, World Energy Outlook reported that over 2.7 billion people globally were reliant on solid biomass with inefficient stoves and cooked in poorly ventilated places [1]. A majority of these people reside in low- and middle-income countries [2]. More than 700 million people in Africa and 90% of rural households in Kenya currently use biomass fuels for cooking and heating [3,4].  
Biomass is expected to continue being the main source of energy in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) for the foreseeable future [5]. However, in Kenya there is a 27% and 55% deficit for firewood and charcoal, respectively [6], hence the need for the development of technologies that enhance efficiency in the utilization of biomass energy. Women and girls have the responsibility for firewood collection [7],which is hard work and a life-threatening exercise [8]. Firewood scarcity and the use of inefficient stoves makes the situation worse, as women must walk farther to find the resource and consequently lose time for other activities [9] such as income generation and education. The wood burned with inefficient stoves is converted into pollutants which impact the environment and human health [10]. Around 2%-7% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are from the production and use of firewood and charcoal [11]. Globally, over 4.3 million deaths occur annually from illnesses associated to household air pollution, mainly affecting women and children who spend much time in the kitchen [12]. The introduction and adoption of improved cooking systems would be one step in the right direction towards sustainability [13; 14; 15].  
The gasifier is a pyrolytic stove that produces its own gas for the production of heat for household cooking and char as a by-product [16]. The dual benefits of these changes help to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. If the produced char is used as soil amendment (known as biochar), it sequesters carbon and can increase crop yields [17]. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity [18]. Among the goals, SDG 7 targets access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy services for all by 2030 [19]. Clean cooking solutions could be realised through the uptake of improved stoves and may also contribute to the fulfilment of other SDGs, such as health, gender equality, \"life on land\", poverty alleviation and hunger eradication. Kenya's draft National Energy and Petroleum Policy and Vision 2030, among other planning documents, acknowledge access to affordable and cleaner cooking and heating energy as key to development.  
Research on the use of gasifier cookstoves for biochar production has shown the potential to reduce emissions and fuel consumption [20; 21], but there is a need for knowledge on the implications of their uptake from the users' perspective, which this study contributes to. Further, a systematic review by [PERSON] et al. [22] reported low awareness on the environmental and health impacts of improved cook stoves by stove users. The aim of this study was therefore to assess the benefits of top-lit-updraft (TLUD) (natural draft) gasifier cook stoves (hereafter \"gasifier\") uptake from a holistic perspective, based on data obtained from a survey of the 50 households in Kwale County in Kenya who were issued with gasifiers for free. From the survey, the factors that affect cookstove uptake have been reported [23]. This paper focuses on direct and indirect implications of uptake from the users' perspective. The study was part of the \"Farm-level production and use of biochar in Kenya\" project which ran in two phases 2013-2016 and 2016-2019 and aimed to tackle issues of energy, soil fertility and health among smallholder farmers through the use of biochar-producing gasifier cook stoves.