An adapting cooking technology powered by recycled materials: Sustainable opportunity for green energy and women led micro economic industry.

Approximately three billion people rely on biomass fuels to meet household energy demand. Household air pollution (HAP) associated with burning biomass fuels is the seventh-largest risk factor for global burden of disease; HAP contains harmful pollutants including fine particulate matter (PM2.5), carbon monoxide (CO), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). Unsustainable harvesting of biomass and use of inefficient technologies have adverse consequences for the environment, economic development, and climate. Also to be noticed, the various economic slabs and pressure points in different area, pressurizing the urban poor and women to use such neo-conventional methods of using energy for household cooking and facing unsustainable economic development. Mostly women and children are the victims of the hazardous physical stability caused by the HAP. In developing countries, household energy use has 10% share in world’s primary energy consumption, a total of 1,090 Million Tons of Oil Equivalent. The main use of energy in the households in developing countries is for cooking followed by lighting and heating. And household use of biomass in these countries accounts for almost 7% of world primary energy demand. The genesis of the project is in the city of Kolkata that has the highest gross CO2 emission footprints in India of which city’s municipal solid waste and landfill accounts for nearly 45% of the total emissions. The future of the radically unequal & explosively unstable urban world that makes ‘citizens of dirt’ and waste recycling were concerns of SAFE behind creating this entrepreneurial opportunity called RESOLVE for the urban poor. We have initiated this innovative adaptive economic model of RESOLVE with the slum dwellers, since every slum portrays a vast humanity warehoused in shanty towns ostracized from the formal world economy. Social audits conducted by SAFE showed that the urban slums adjacent to municipal garbage hills increasing landfill emission, spreading pollution & diseases whereas the solid wastes recreate resources for dwellers to survive. This unorganized sector has created opportunity for handful of recyclers to make huge profit by exploiting the underprivileged in the lure of a tiny amount. At the project opening day there were Three groups of Employee volunteers with 4-6 members in each group, moved towards the locality of Dhapa-Chaynabhi separately. The three groups covering more than 1500 meter discovered the problems and lags of local households while using any kind of energy for cooking food. LPG and Kerosene as fuel for cooking are costly options for marginal women in urban/slums and clusters in Kolkata and wood works as alternative fuel for the women in the area of Chainavi. After the EVP there was a demonstration of the Retained Heat cooker (RHC) or the magic cooker by the members. Retained heat cooker is a standalone, non-electric insulated bag designed to reduce the amount of fuel required to cook food. Instead of being placed on a stove for the entire duration, food is heated to a boiling temperature and transferred to the cooker. It uses the principle of thermal insulation to continue the cooking process without requiring any additional heat. RHC provides the possibility of smooth cooking by retaining the heat within the enclosed space using thermal insulation. It reduces the emission of CO2 and fuel consumption that will be creating a positive impact in our environment. In fabrication process, 180-190 GSM polyester microfiber made fabric with air porosity properties is used. Here two layers of fabric are sewn according to desired shape. For getting thermal insulation properties; polystyrene beads from EPS are used. By the simple and easy cooking process RHC saves up to 50% of the required cooking energy, Keeps food hot or cold up to 10 hours. RHC is Portable, cost effective and safe, able to reduce strove time by two thirds. Recycled materials such as wool blankets, old sweaters, newspaper can be used as good insulation material for fabricating this bag. The bag could be made within one hour by any semi expert women using the waste cloths. the selling price of the RHC could be 400-500 INR investing only less then 100 INR. The RHC promoting green energy and powering the sustainable economic growth of the women of urban and semi urban slums. ACT NOW is the project the South Asian forum for Environment, SAFE inspired by the innovation by GIZ Bangladesh and the major cooperation of PwC-SDC is going to implement at the urban and semi urban poor households of Kolkata. The field study on using of energy by the urban and semi urban poor households will be doing the actual case study on the activities towards sustainability and using of green energy. The urge of using renewable energy from the reusable mechanism is the main collective discourse of the day while SAFE and PwC-SDC, the organisation duo are observing The National Energy Conservation day.