In a world filled with innovative startups and groundbreaking technologies, my journey as a B. Tech student from a middle-class family may seem ordinary at first glance. However, my path has been anything but that. My entrepreneurial odyssey has been a tale of perseverance and an unwavering commitment to solving a critical global issue: indoor air pollution caused by biomass-burning stoves. GITAM SmartIDEAthon 2023, a pitching platform, played a crucial role in helping me gain recognition for my efforts in addressing this pressing problem.
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Understanding the issue
My journey began as a child when I would visit my grandmother in my village in Odisha. She cooked using a traditional mud stove or chulha, fueled by wood and cowdung cakes. Despite my father’s insistence that she switch to cleaner alternatives like LPG or induction, my grandmother had a compelling argument: “Why pay for fuel when wood and cowdung were readily available?” Little did I know that this simple observation would ignite the spark of entrepreneurship within me.
The turning point came during my first year of B. Tech when I watched my grandmother’s health deteriorate due to the smoke emitted by the chulha. Concerned, I began to research and came to the shocking revelation that nearly two billion people worldwide still used biomass-burning stoves that caused over three million deaths annually, surpassing even major diseases like Malaria, TB, or HIV. These stoves were also responsible for emitting nearly one billion tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.
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Determined to make a difference, I embarked on my entrepreneurial journey. In my first year, I developed VENTICOOK, a pedal-operated stove with an air inlet fan. While the stove demonstrated efficiency, it lacked a customer-centric design that led to its eventual failure. At that point, doubts crept in, but I couldn’t ignore the inner voice pushing me to continue. I knew I might hold the key to solving this issue, so I started afresh, armed with newfound experience and customer insights.
Renewed purpose
Following the initial setback, I began working on what would become our flagship product, CHULIV. Recognising that rural women needed a solution that cost no more than ₹1,000, I took a different approach. Instead of replacing the traditional chulha, I sought to enhance its efficiency. After three months of iterations, we unveiled an automatic air blower stove. This patented device operates on the heat of the chulha and converts heat energy to kinetic energy that runs a fan present inside the device. This pushes clean air into the chulha and significantly reduces smoke emissions through improved combustion.
Our journey has taken us to the CTTC Bhubaneswar, where we manufacture CHULIV. We’ve secured funding from organisations such as the ICICI Foundation; the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, through KIIT TBI; and the Startup India Seed fund by AIC-Nalanda Business incubator. Rigorous testing is carried out at CSIR-IMMT Bhubaneswar to ensure highest quality standards.
One of the most significant milestones on this journey was winning the GITAM SmartIDEAthon 2023. The opportunity to travel to Boston, the U.S., and connect with mentors from Northeastern University is a dream come true. My journey as an aspiring student entrepreneur has been marked by a relentless pursuit of a solution to indoor air pollution. With CHULIV, we aim to transform the lives of millions of people by providing an affordable, efficient, and sustainable cooking solution. This is just the beginning, and I am excited to continue working towards a cleaner, healthier future for all.
The writer is a final year student of Odisha University of Technology and Research, Bhubaneshwar.