In women’s 'sewa': Smoke-free 'chulha' for good health

Shabhiben, a resident of Visavadi village in Surendranagar district, has used the traditional stove known as 'chulha' for cooking since childhood. This has meant inhaling smoke from burning wood and cow dung cakes which serve as fuel for such stoves. As a result, Shabhiben now suffers from constant headache and has breathing problems apart from burning and itching of the skin. She has also developed dark spots on her skin.

Fullaben from Kutch earns a meagre living by doing embroidery work. Unfortunately, some of her earnings are spent on medicines for treatment of health problems caused by smoke from the traditional cooking stove. She spends half the day trying to find wood to light the chulha. The smoke has given her a bad cough and breathing problems.

Shabhiben and Fullaben are among the lakhs of women in remote parts of Gujarat for whom the traditional chulha has long been a threat to health. But they will soon be able to get rid of it and replace it with a battery-operated stove that produces no smoke and has no harmful effect on people using them.

Battery-operated stoves and solar lights will be sold to women in remote areas of the state as part of an initiative by Self-Employed Women's Association (Sewa). The initiative called, Hariyali, is being supported by Clinton Global Initiative Forum.  Sewa had earlier conducted a study on about 2 lakh members in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Also included in the study were about 15 lakh women from different Indian states and neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Pakistan.

The study found that a majority of women using the traditional stove suffered from ill effects of smoke from chulha fuel. Constant headache, weak eyesight, cataract, respiratory troubles, burning sensation in the eyes, and itching of the skin were common health complaints among these women.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) considers smoke from cooking stoves to be one of the five biggest threats to health in developing countries. The smoke is the cause of death of nearly two million people every year, which is twice the number of people killed by malaria.

“Black smoke is not only a health threat for women using the traditional chulha but makes their homes gloomy as well. These women tend to feel depressed as the walls of their houses become black when covered by soot. Lack of electricity adds to their problems,” said Reema Nanavaty, director of economic and rural development, Sewa.

She further said that lack of electricity in remote areas of the state forces women to finish their household work early and collect wood for use as chulha fuel. If they happen to be collecting firewood from forests, the women are frequently harassed by forest officials, Nanavaty said.

The battery-operated chulha would go a long way in helping these women regain good health. The safe stoves which run on rechargeable battery and solar lights would be sold for Rs2300 and Rs1800, respectively, to women in the remote areas of the state. Nanavaty said the battery-operated stove doesn’t generate smoke. “This will not only give women freedom from many health complaints but also cut the need for wood or any other fuel by 40%. Solar lights will provide lighting even in those homes which do not have access to electricity,” she said.

Sewa has sought Rs25 crore loan for the project from the ICICI Bank. On May 24, vice-president of International Finance Corporation will remain present while formalities for the loan are completed.
Nanavaty said Sewa had also trained its members in post-purchase maintenance of the products so that their use is not disrupted because of some minor fault. Sewa also aims to link the initiative with carbon-credit earning in the future.