The smokeless chullah production unit is a collaboration between Christ (Deemed to be University), Bangalore, (through Centre for Social Action), Chetana Women and Community Development Multipurpose Souharda Cooperative Society and BlueMatch Clean Cooking Solutions Private Limited. The smokeless chullah production unit intensified its operation in July 2017. The unit is situated in Halasakaipura village in Hoskote Taluk and its services have begun to reach many villages apart from the six villages chosen for the UBA project. From a humble beginning in a few villages, at present, it has expanded to two districts, Bangalore Rural and Chikkaballapura Districts.
Eight rural women and four personnel of BlueMatch Clean Cooking Solutions Pvt. Ltd are working in the production unit. Six more rural youth girls and women have been trained in sales skills and they are at the job of selling the smokeless chullahs called as The BlueMatch Pragathi EcoStove, which is a Solar cum Electric Powered ‘Fan Gasifier’ Smokeless Chullah. The women are also producing BlueMatch EcoPellets, which is the optimum fuel for the Pragathi EcoStove.
The students and faculty of Christ (Deemed to University) visit the smokeless chullah unit and receive sensitization about the importance of such technologies. They provide support to the unit by creating awareness in the villages and motivate the rural families to purchase and use the smokeless chullahs. The project staff of Centre for Social Action, Christ (Deemed to be University, Bangalore) are providing technical support to the unit in collaboration with BlueMatch Clean Cooking Solutions Pvt. Ltd and Chetana Women and Community Development Multipurpose Souharda Cooperative Society.
Chetana Women and Community Development Multipurpose Souharda Cooperative Society has come forward to lend loans on easy installments at low interest to its women SHG members (about 650) to purchase the smokeless chullahs. Before this, they conducted demonstrations in the villages to promote the use of smokeless chullahs.
Future Plan:
When faculty and students of Christ (Deemed to be University), Bangalore visit the villages during rural exposure camps, they visit the unit, get oriented and spread awareness in the villages, including UBA project villages, about the advantages to health and environment, if smokeless challahs are used. This practice will be continued. More intense orientation will be given to the students and faculty of CDU, during the rural exposure camps, by the staff of the production unit, to enable them to spread awareness in the villages and to motivate people to buy and use the smokeless chullahs instead of the conventional chullahs, which are harmful to the health of women, children, youth and the family, which is due to the indoor pollution caused by them. Needless to state, these efforts will be carried out even in the six villages chosen for the UBA project.
As already stated, Chetana Women and Community Development Multipurpose Souharda Cooperative Society has come forward to lend loans on easy installments at low interest for its self-help group (SHG) members to purchase and use the smokeless chullahs. There are around 650 SHG members and as a starting point, this is a good market for the product. The student groups will be enabled to play a supportive role by motivating the SHG members to buy the product, thus intensifying the marketing efforts.