Background
The project involved the conversion of 100 inefficient, high fuel wood consuming cook-stoves used at roadside eateries (dhabas) into, fuel efficient smoke-less stoves. The project was completed successfully in Mahbubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh. Earlier, owing to the enormous success of the similar previous initiative and its potential for replication, the Waterloo Foundation entrusted WII to carry out a similar operation across a much larger user base.
Objective
WII chose to work with dhabas across 10 districts of Andhra Pradesh to implement 100 such energy efficient low carbon cook stoves. After initial surveys it was found that these dhabas relied on energy inefficient cookstoves that consumed, on an average, 150 to 200 kg of fuel wood each day. With an average working duration of 8 to 10 hours everyday and with poor thermal efficiencies of less than 10 percent, the wastage of precious fuel wood was both an environmental hazard and a source for loss of revenue for the dhaba owners. It was also found that the ambient levels of CO at these dhabas were more than 4,200 mg/ m3 which again posed a risk to the health of both the cooks inside the kitchens and to the customers that the dhabas were catering too.
Activities
Thus to achieve the objectives, the major activities carried out included: - Identification of 100 inefficient cook stoves in 10 districts of Andhra Pradesh
- Awareness generation among users on benefits of the stoves through the distribution of one page flyers, organizing exposure visits to existing improved stoves locations, erection of banners at important junctions of the town
- Development of suitable designs for each dhaba
- Even though the basic principle of operation remained the same, each dhaba had its own unique requirements which was addressed
- Capacity building of masons and fabricators in the construction and fabrication of the metal parts of the stoves
Achievements
Similar to the results from WII’s previous initiative, the new cook stoves helped reduce fuel wood consumption by 50 to 60 percent of the original volume. Each stove now helps the owners to save 75 to 100 kgs of wood every day which translates into a cumulative saving of about 3,600 tons each year. Financially, this savings of the fuel wood translates to savings of Rs. 72,000 for each dhaba and thus the cumulative financial savings goes on to Rs. 72 million per annum for all the 100 stoves put together.
The indoor air quality (IAQ) has seen significant improvements as the levels of carbon monoxide (CO) inside the kitchens have reduced from 4,260 µg/m3 (before implementation) to 480 µg/m3 (after implementation). The temperatures inside the kitchen came down by nearly 8°C after the implementation. The use of fuel efficient stoves also results in saving of 3,600 tons of fuel wood per annum which is equivalent to emission reduction of 3,402 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, a fact that has a positive impact on reducing the levels of CO2 in and around the project locations.
The initiative has also helped contribute to better conditions for the cooks and for the customers who eat at these dhabas. Additionally, there are about 80 masons and 12 fabricators who were trained in the construction and fabrication of the stoves’ metal components which again has helped them earn better revenues, and will continue to do as the project achieves greater replication across the region. The previous phase of the concept received overwhelming support from dhaba owners across the state, and the same has been observed with the recently concluded project. Andhra Pradesh has roughly 4,000 such eateries that would be ideal for such interventions. Given the multiple benefits of the concept, WII is keen to scale-up its implementation and is actively disseminating the success stories through a combination of different awareness generation tools. |
