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The Hindu
3 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
Eco-friendly cookstoves are making a revolution in Udaipur's remote areas
Combining climate resilience with market linkages, a women-led enterprise in Rajasthan's Udaipur district has evolved a model for clean technology by supplying eco-friendly modern cookstoves to the rural households, which have saved thousands of tonnes of firewood in the tribal-dominated region. The high-efficiency cookstoves have replaced the traditional mud and stone stoves. The community-owned Udaipur Urja Initiatives (UUI),a farmer producer company, has created a network of 400 women entrepreneurs and reached out to 65,000 households. The single burner cookstoves, designed to cater to the needs of rural women, have been developed on the principle of efficient and complete combustion. These stoves, operating on all solid fuels such as wood, agro-residue and dry dung, minimise harmful emissions of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and particular matter. They have been certified by the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and the Bureau of Indian Standards. The rated thermal efficiency of the cookstoves is more than 30%, which reduces the cooking time by half and cuts the requirement of firewood by almost two thirds when compared to traditional mud or three-stone based stoves. The cookstoves are at present manufactured at the plant of an organisation, Greenway Grameen, in Gujarat's Vadodara. UUI chief executive officer Saumyajit Auddy told The Hindu that the enterprise was working in over 300 remote and scattered villages across eight tehsils in Udaipur and Salumbar districts, inhabited by the Scheduled Tribe communities of Bhil, Meena and Garasiya. 'The women of these households were earlier traversing long distances in the uneven hilly terrains to collect firewood from the forest,' Mr. Auddy said. The red tape surrounding the implementation of the Forest Rights Act has made it difficult for tribal women to access the forests for collection of firewood. Most of the households have to purchase firewood from the market at the prices which have increased by four to five times in the last five years. Nathi Bai of Dholi Ghati village in Udaipur's Gogunda block said the new cookstove had reduced her cooking time by two hours every day. 'I don't purchase firewood from the market anymore. Small twigs and branches of trees in and around my house are more than sufficient… I get to save ₹1,000 every month,' she said. Gavri Bai, functioning as the project's monitor in Bagdunda village, said she had supplied 240 cookstoves during the last four years and only 30 of them had so far required minor repairing. Ms. Bai said she was visiting the households every day, where she was known by her name. 'The Urja project has given me an identity of my own,' she said. Radha Devi of Jhadol block's Godawara village said her eyes no longer burned and there was no coughing in the preparation of food for her family. 'After so may years, the wall of my room did not get blackened with soot and there was no need to repaint, thanks to the new stoves,' she said.
New Indian Express
30-04-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
AKG Centre a hallmark of energy efficiency and eco-friendliness
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: AKG Centre, the new CPM headquarters inaugurated last week, could prove a model for others, including rival parties, for its architectural value, eco-friendliness and energy efficiency. According to the CPM, it is the first building in Kerala to achieve the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) 4 rating from the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. An array of special interior and exterior features makes the building stand out from other modern-day structures. Environmental friendliness is its primary hallmark. As per the party, the building, constructed in adherence to green protocol, has only 30% of its 60,000 sq ft space air-conditioned. The 11-storey solar-powered building has two underground floors just for parking and can accommodate up to 60 vehicles at a time, the party said. 'Under normal circumstances, the building can withstand even a moderate earthquake, and won't suffer cracks. There's a chain of about 220 pilings across the compound. Of these, 82 are for the main building alone,' said senior CPM leader A K Balan. He said the entire electrical equipment has five-star rating. Odourless paint has been used, while curtains and carpets are indigenous, Balan said, adding that the building is also disabled-friendly. 'There are special water storage facilities— for rainwater harvesting and normal supply. If required, we can supply water to surrounding regions too, especially if there's a fire,' Balan said. All the furniture for the building have been procured from Rubco, a PSU. Balan said CPM took special care to ensure that contracts for different aspects of the building was awarded through competitive bidding to avoid needless controversies. 'We can say with pride that we didn't have to take a single building rule exemption,' he said. Spread across 32 cents at NS Warrier Road, three floors of the building have been dedicated for office works and meetings and also house conference halls. The building has facilities for the state committee office, a meeting hall for the secretariat, a space for media briefing, studio, office rooms for the politburo, central committee and state secretariat members, in addition to a modernised kitchen and accommodation for senior leaders. It was the late Kodiyeri Balakrishnan who identified the land next to the old building while serving as the CPM state secretary and proposed the construction of the new office building. It was designed by architect Mahesh. Criteria Site planning Preservation of topsoil and existing vegetation Stormwater management Minimisation of hard paving to reduce heat island effect Construction management Use of low-VOC (volatile organic compound) and eco-friendly materials Construction waste reduction and recycling Energy efficiency Optimised building envelope and energy performance Energy-efficient lighting, HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) and appliances Integration of renewable energy (solar, wind) Water efficiency Rainwater harvesting and recharge Use of low-flow fixtures Wastewater treatment and reuse Waste management On-site waste segregation and recycling Composting of biodegradable waste Reduction of construction and demolition waste Sustainable building materials Use of locally-sourced materials Recycled or rapidly renewable content Reduced use of virgin wood and high-energy materials Indoor environmental quality Adequate natural daylight ventilation Use of low-emission paints, adhesives and finishes Thermal and acoustic comfort for occupants Socio-economic strategies Universal accessibility for all users Generation of employment and skill-building for laborers Promoting safety and inclusivity on site
