Time to chuck traditional mud stove

A Mumbai-based green start-up that’s currently operating in two of the south Indian States launched its low smoke stoves in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on Thursday.

The company, Greenway Stoves, that was setup in 2012 has so far sold three lakh stoves in 30 districts spread across Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

The stoves are healthy and eco-friendly, officials of the company said at the launch event held in the city. The company is expecting its sales to go up from 1.15 lakh last year to 3.5 lakh this year following their launch in the twin States.

The product is expected to have takers in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as 90 per cent of the rural and 59.1 per cent of the households in the two States continue to cook on traditional mud stoves, representatives of the company said quoting 2011 census.

“Smoke emitted from mud stoves is equivalent to smoking 20 cigarettes a day. This pollution in a household is the number one health risk for women in South Asia,” Neha Juneja, CEO of the company, said. Smoke from the traditional mud stoves is also one of the significant contributors to infant mortality and poor health, she added.

The stoves which use a patented airflow technology that ensures 99.9 per cent combustion of biomass is proved to save fuel by 65 per cent and cause smoke reduction by 70 per cent when compared to mud stoves.

The eco-friendly stoves can combust all solid biomass fuels, including wood, dry dung and crop waste, officials explained.

Two models of the stove priced at Rs. 1,499 and Rs. 2,499 are also tested and certified by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

“The product comes with a two-year replaceable warranty and we target the middle income rural households which have modern appliances, including mobile phones and other electronic appliances,” said Ms. Juneja, adding kitchens even today use traditional technologies. The company that manufactures in Vadodara, Gujarat does marketing through self-help women’s groups and rural development banks.

The company is also exporting the products to Mexico.

A Mumbai-based start-up launches smoke-efficient stove in TS, AP