Usually, these families earn Rs 5000-6000 per month, and affording the available solar cookers worth Rs 2000 and more is not a possibility. So, I decided to create an economical alternative, which they won’t necessarily have to buy, but can even make on their own.”
At around 9 AM, just before leaving for work, she washes a cup of daal, mixes in pre-cut vegetables, and drops the concoction inside a cooker.
Doing the same with the rice, she leaves to work in the fields. A few hours later, at lunchtime, when she returns home, the food is cooked and ready to eat.
This is not a magical—or hypothetical—situation. This is the reality of hundreds of women in rural parts of Gujarat, who, thanks to Alzubair Saiyed, the senior manager at the Gujarat Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network, and his solar cooker campaign, have embraced a new way of cooking.
But there’s more.
As opposed to conventional solar cookers worth thousands of rupees, the cost of this one ranges from Rs 50 to Rs 100!
Owing to this, Alzubair and his product have been able to solve a crucial problem in the rural socio-economic fabric-—dependence on traditional fuels.
“Half of the world’s population is still dependent on fuels generated from wood or cow dung for cooking, and every year, 160 lakh hectares of forests are destroyed to obtain wood. This not only harms the environment but is also a root cause for various severe health issues for those continuously exposed to its fumes. In this case, it is the women,” says Alzubair, whose visits to villages across Gujarat revealed how women would have to travel long distances to obtain wood for cooking.
wing to this, Alzubair and his product have been able to solve a crucial problem in the rural socio-economic fabric-—dependence on traditional fuels.
“Half of the world’s population is still dependent on fuels generated from wood or cow dung for cooking, and every year, 160 lakh hectares of forests are destroyed to obtain wood. This not only harms the environment but is also a root cause for various severe health issues for those continuously exposed to its fumes.