Two months ago, EarthTrends reported on the hazards of indoor air pollution, which results in 1.6 million premature deaths every year. One of the simplest solutions to this pressing global problem is the introduction of improved stoves that release fewer toxic emissions. Past efforts to employ such technologies, however, have generally been small-scale and have failed to achieve significant global impact. The Shell Foundation's "Breathing Space" program is now planning to introduce the first market-based model for clean-burning wood stove technology, with the ambition of reaching millions of poor households throughout the world.
Poor, Rural Households Suffer Most
Over half of the world's population and 80 percent of all rural households in the developing world cook indoors with solid fuels like wood, coal, crop residues and dung. The resulting carbon monoxide, benzene, soot and other toxic substances disproportionately affect women and children, who spend much of their day around the hearth. For more details about the causes and effects of solid fuel use, check out EarthTrends' October 2007 Monthly Update.
Percent of Population Using Solid Fuels
(Total population using solid fuels in parentheses)
Source: EarthTrends 2007, using data from WHO Global Health Atlas 2007
Failure to Scale Up
Small-scale efforts to introduce clean-burning stoves have achieved modest gains in countries such as China, India and Nepal. However, encouraging the adoption and continued use of new technologies is more difficult than it seems, especially amongst poor women who do not fully understand the health threats associated with traditional stoves and who are hesitant to make changes.
Using a Market-Based Strategy
In order to achieve more lasting impacts and widespread penetration, the Shell Foundation, in cooperation with Envirofit , intends to design stoves that reduce indoor air pollution while also appealing to women on other levels, thereby making the stoves commercially viable. This revolutionary new strategy will require market research to understand cooking habits and preferences, which will dictate stove design and even decorative considerations such as color. In India, for example, where women tend to squat while cooking, height will be an important consideration. According to the Envirofit program coordinator, Jaime Whitlock, women "want to buy something they're proud of."
Once the stoves are designed, the program will employ a "tupperware marketing strategy," in which women with experience using the stoves will make house calls to talk about the product. The Shell Foundation's current vision is to sell 20 million stoves in five countries over the next five years. If successful, the project has great potential for scaling up in the long-term.
Above photo by Bitterjug via Flickr
RELATED LINKS:
Partnership for Clean Indoor Air
EarthTrends
Solid Fuel Use by Country, in Thousand Tonnes of Oil Equivalent (ktoe)
Solid Fuel Use by Country, as Percent of Fuel
"Health, Environment, and Poverty"
"Undying Flame: The Continuing Demand for Wood as Fuel"
