Changing lives in the Sundarbans
One Kitchen at a time –
Cooking Delight and Sustainable
Revenue Generation through
Charcoal Production
Problem
In the Sundarbans, West Bengal, India, cooking is mostly done on
inefficient mud stoves burning firewood. This lead to depletion of
forests, respiratory diseases.
Technology
Technology: Micro gasifier stove, burns wood gas
Clean, comfortable, efficient, generates charcoal
Partners
Partners:
Servals: Stove producer, in Chennai, social enterprise
Sapient: Local implementer, based in Kolkata, Berachampa
atmosfair: Funding, through donations for carbon offsets, based in Berlin
Implementation
6000 stoves in the field, 40 jobs created
chopped wood sold to users
140000 kg charcoal per month collected from stove users,
replaces conventional charcoal made from wood
Challenges
Get Self-Sustaining:
Increase Prices, introduce installments
Local charcoal usage identification to reduce costs
Relevance for Climate Justice
Is both mitigation and adaptation, since mangrove forests are conserved that
protect against storms and floods
Uses donations to reduce emissions and create local sustainable business
BARRIERS
Need a paradigm shift in the way we think about cook stove domain
Creating demand for ICS
Awareness campaigns for ICS adoption
Unorganized industry
High cost barriers