Combating Household Air Pollution:
The challenges linked to the use of primitive means of cooking that rely on solid fuels is multifaceted. Women and children are the most vulnerable to this hazard given their propensity to higher exposure levels to the fumes. In-door air pollution can cause a myriad of diseases such as ischaemic heart disease, child pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer. About 50 % of the pneumonia linked child mortality has been attributed to exposure to particulate matter (soot) inhaled from household air pollution. Around 2.1 Bn people around the world continue to cook with open fires or inefficient stoves, resulting in approximately to 3.2 Mn deaths each year from household air pollution. (Source: WHO, Household Air Pollution and Health Risks, 2025)
In India, many households continue to cook with solid fuels on daily basis, contributing to harmful indoor air pollution and posing health risks, particularly for women and children.
There is a pressing need to find innovative and affordable solutions to enable safer and energy efficient cooking. To address this challenge, we partnered with CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) an Institution of Government of India, to develop PAVAK, a low-cost, improved cookstove designed to enable safer, cleaner, and more energy-efficient cooking practices. The cookstove is BIS 2013 compliant and offers several benefits including, reduced emissions, reduced fuel consumption, durability, and easy maintenance. Additionally, demonstration sessions are also conducted across identified villages to build community awareness and promote adoption.
In Madhya Pradesh, we disseminated 4,000+ cookstoves across 28 tribal villages in Khandwa and Burhanpur districts. In Maharashtra till date, 19,200+ cookstoves were disseminated across 75 villages in the Akkalkuwa and Dhadgaon blocks of Nandurbar district.
Through this intervention, thousands of families are benefiting from cleaner indoor environments, reduced health risks, and improved cooking efficiency. Through innovation and community-driven adoption, the PAVAK Cookstove Project is addressing household air pollution. This initiative is creating a lasting impact by empowering women, protecting children's health, and promoting sustainable development in underserved communities.
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