Bangladesh – Grameen Shakti: Improved cooking technology for rural women

Grameen Shakti website – http://www.gshakti.org/ics.html

In rural Bangladesh, the energy consumption for cooking outstrips the demand for all other uses of energy. Grameen Shakti has launched a program to promote improved cook stoves in Bangladesh to address the high demand for biomass fuels and indoor air pollution caused by cooking on polluting, traditional stoves.

GS has become interested in ICS because it helps women and makes their lives easier. GS sees a potential market of at least 2 million ICSs in the first three years of the program. GS plans to depend on two types of local players for expanding Improved Cook Stoves – local technicians and local manufacturers. GS has already trained more than 600 local youth especially women to make, sale and repair ICSs. GS plans to train more technicians in the next phase .These trained technicians will train others as well as produce and commercialize improved cook stoves on behalf on Grammen Shakti. Many of them will soon start their own business in arrangement with GS and will lay the basis of developing ICS entrepreneurs at the rural level. GS has developed and pilot tested its own model of three mouthed stoves which is more efficient than previous models in Bangladesh. GS has also set up 10 manufacturing units in rural settings for constructing ICS accessories such as metal grates and chimneys. These manufacturing units are run by entrepreneurs with the financial and technical assistance from GS This strategy has proved to be successful. More than 2000 ICSs have been constructed within first six months of the program. Women and commercial organizations such as food industries, restaurant hostels, soap manufactures have shown great interest in ICS.