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Reduce Smoke while Cooking!

Eileen Delhi/Flickr, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/deed.en

The traditional cooking stoves in India which are also known as the chullas are the best for delicious Indian food but also has the dark side of impacting the health of those women cooking with it and also the children and people in the house.

Apart from the black smoke which darkens the walls and spoils the beauty of the house there is also a big danger to the health because of the carbon monoxide contained in this smoke. Many researches and data are available since long time which also proves that this kind of traditional cooking using a mix of wood, hay, or cow dung are resulting in a big amount of carbon soot covering the villages are the big factor in contributing the climate change as well. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the particulate matter and the gases contained in this smoke are resulting in the pneumonia, chronic respiratory disease, heart disease, low birth weight, and probably tuberculosis and other diseases. Globally, an estimated 49% of deaths attributable to household use of solid fuel are due to pneumonia in children under age 5.

To the solution towards this problem many projects have been already implemented world wide and some are still going on. There are many simple tips which could change this immense effect and could change the climate change effect. The use of the proper chimney and the appropriate construction of this chullas can avoid above stated problems from the traditional cooking stove.
We can also name them as sustainable cooking.

Sustainable Cooking: The Why and the How

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Why: Consequenences of indoor air pollution

It is estimated that over 1.6 million people die due to smoke inhalation from indoor wood burning stoves each year. India in particular is badly affected, accounting for 25% of such fatalities.
As described above reasons for the need to use better cook stoves are again described shortly here

- Indoor pollution from smoke contributes to health problems .Household smoke, mostly from cooking stoves, is a major cause of childhood pneumonia and child death.
- Global Warming: A number of gases and particles in smoke produced by stoves and cooking fires contribute to global warming. several studies of the combined emissions from stoves suggest that household stoves typically may emit gases and particles that together have a net warming effect equivalent to between one and three tonnes of CO2 annually.
- The use of efficient and pollution free stove are using less wood and more biomass and renewable energies which helps both in improving the environment and the Health.

How: Cleaner biomass cookstoves

Cook with your environment and health in mind and use cleaner cook stoves! The cost of improved stoves can be as little as $3 for a simply improved bucket stove

The Sarai Cooking System: There is very huge number of sugarcanes farms in India which generates a big amount of trash. This unused trash can be utilized to manufacture briquette charcoal which can be utilized as a fuel for above mentioned Sarai cook stoves. This kind of briquette charcoal is also available in the market for approximately INR 20 per Kilogram. The technology is helpful in reducing the pollution and climate change and is preferable for better cooking conditions without generating dangerous gases at home. More information at ARTI.

Dream Stoves: It is possible to reach approximately 65% efficiency utilizing biomass for this kind of stoves. The costs of this kind are US$8-12. The biomass "It is not impossible to have a biomass cook stove with total combustion and an approachable efficiency of around 65%, and also made available at an affordable cost," says Prof. P.D. Grover of the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi. He says a "Dream Stove" would cost from US$8-12, or less with mass production and the use of local materials. For more information check "Cost Estimates For A 'Dream Stove' For Asia".

Some more Examples for Renewable and Cleaner biomass cook stoves :

Solar box cookers: Cheap, simple and effective solar box cookers have great potential, but again they are only part of the solution.
Parishad ovens: high-efficiency wood burning stoves which use at least 50% less firewood, saving 0.6-0.8 million tons of firewood a year.

Better Indian stoves for a better world

In India several models of improved cook stoves have been developed:

Udairaj chulla is optimum for cooking chapatti using firewood, dry dung cakes, crop residues, and other traditional fuels. The construction is made easier, cheaper, and conventional using better quality cement and bricks. The outer layer out of mud is best for the skin protection.
Laxmi Chulha are best for better environment in the house because of the chimney construction and offering multiple pot options.
Sampoorna and Saral. The most economic, healthy and environment friendly chulha with their two different versions according to their functionality are known as saral and sampoorna. Sampoorna allows cooking rice, lentils etc with the help of steam and at the other hand saral offers on cooking block and another other blocks for keeping the food warm.