Gram Vikas’ aim is to reduce indoor air pollution and consumption of fuel wood in rural homes through the promotion of ‘smokeless’ chullahs (improved cookstoves) and the renewal, repair and construction of biogas units. The intervention revolves around the introduction of cooking technologies and practices that can have a significant impact on the health and lifestyles of rural women. A number of chullah designs were tested in an effort to create the most efficient model to reduce the amount of wood required. The design also contains provision for an exhaust pipe to carry the smoke safely outside of the house to mitigate the harmful effects on the respiratory systems of women and children.

Gram Vikas is collaborating with the Centre for Micro Finance, Chennai and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston in an action research project to study the health impacts of reduced indoor air pollution as a result of the smokeless cook stoves.

The smokeless chullah (stove) programme has been scaled up this year to cover all operational households of Gram Vikas.  The programme incorporates the Gram Vikas chullah design-a double-pot, mud stove design that was a result of a detailed study and corresponding modifications to existing designs.  The design uses locally made mud pipes, allowing income generation to local potters. Attempts are made to fine-tune the design according to local needs, an instance of which is an elevated platform chullah constructed by women in Kalahandi district.  

For implementation, Gram Vikas uses a local entrepreneurship approach to ensure quality implementation that can easily be scaled up.  Local youth and women’s self-help groups are trained to promote and construct the stoves.  Each household pays the promoter who constructs the stove. Gram Vikas gives a monetary incentive to the promoter for assuring that each constructed chullah is functioning for at least 3 years.  Over the course of 3 years, the chullah user will have learned maintenance methods from the chullah promoter.  In 2008-09, there were 1835 chullahs installed across Gram Vikas’ operational areas.

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