On 25 May 2024, CEMSOJ provided a training on construction and maintenance of Improved Cooking Stove to Indigenous Tamangs and Chepangs of Chyaurang, Saleni Taar and Sukhel villages of Raksirang rural municipality in remote hills of Makawanpur district in southern Nepal. The Stoves are aimed to particularly benefit Indigenous women of the villages of Ward no. 9 of the rural municipality.

Upon request of the Sisneri Peltric Set Project Users’ Committee, the training was organized under Phase 3 of CEMSOJ‘s Community-based Renewable Energy Project (CbREP) initiative. CEMSOJ also provided the Indigenous households with Improved Cooking Stove (ICS) kits, including Matribhumi-ICS air supply disk or burner, and casting dyes for stove and chimney construction. Following the training, Improved Cooking Stoves have been built and successfully operationalized in Chyaurang village. Accordingly, Improved Cooking Stove kits have been supplied for 38 households, 25 additional households of other villages will receive the kits and build Improved Cooking Stoves in the coming months.

The Improved Cooking Stoves will help to prevent grave health impacts on the women and other family members in the villages, who experience respiratory illnesses and cataract due to clouds of smoke produced by traditional stoves. They will also contribute to easing the lives of women as cooking in traditional stoves and cleaning dishes thereafter take up significant amount of time of the women. Further, they are mostly responsible for collecting firewood and fetching water to clean the utensils. The Improved Cooking Stoves will also contribute to decrease in deforestation and carbon emissions as they use less firewood.

Heartfelt gratitude to the Users’ Committee and the communities for labour contribution through for the training and building Improved Cooking Stoves. Thanks to generous support of Pawanka Fund for the project and facilitation of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Network on Extractive Industries and Energy (AIPNEE) and Right Energy Partnership with Indigenous Peoples (REP). Also, thanks to Tiba: Nepa: Engineering Concern for procuring the equipment and providing technical services for the project.

See pictures from the training as well as construction and use of the Improved Cooking Stoves below.