Traditional Cooking [Image Credit:Urbanacres]
Imagine this: You are thirsty, cooking is necessary because it is dinner time and the smell of spices is in the room. But instead of a mouthwatering feeling that draws you closer to eagerly capture what ever is in the picture, your eyes become irritated and a cough engulfs your entire body. This is not a fake scene in an unhealthy food show;
this is the typical scenario of millions of families in India who use unclean cooking fuels.
The shocker? A current research conducted on a university in the United States shows that in India, which already suffers from seriously high levels of air pollution, these dirty fuels – firewood, dung and kerosene, are as deadly as aids or any other diseases or factors. An average of 27 under privileged children die per 1000 children, annually from the emissions of these fuels. I know people who were in school where one class lost, as if that is just the count, it is heartbreaking.
But what are these vices that nobody can see while they are inside the smoke? These are small villains referred to black carbon particles because they infiltrate young lungs like ninjas resulting to a domino effect of respiratory diseases including pneumonia and asthma. It is rather appalling to think of small delicate lungs that should be used for giggling and playing get clogged with pollution.
Well, things are only going to get worse now, don’t you think? This work discovered that this silent threat is even worse for young girls than it is for boys. It is a fact that dowry system still exists in many Indian families and due to this prejudice, girls are mostly involved in cooking and hence are more vulnerable to these toxic pollutants. Not only are they deprived of the daily opportunity to play, but they also face a threat to their health.
But now it is time to employ some smoke and mirrors, in this case actually the proverbial silver lining in this hour long story. We have heroes in the form of cleaner cooking solutions.
As well as biogas and solar cook stoves. For instance, there is biogas – it is fantastic; out of the garbage, leftovers and manure you get a fuel. You can think of it as a recycling process with a result that’s sweet in the mouth – and in the tummy as well! And solar cookers? They use the light from the sun to cook food, transform the light energy into tasty foods. No smoke, no tears!
Take Neha, for example. A bright young girl from this rural village was used to boiling absolute something and much as her eyes were watering and her chest almost constricting due to coughing whenever she attended to the smoky fire. Then came solar cookers as if a ray of sunshine to the families who had to toil hard to soften a lump of charcoal. Neha became very happy as she was taught how to spread the magic of the sun in cooking. Not only did it make her healthier, but the new freedom which appeared in her life let her study more, to dream about a better future.
The message is clear: Bio-fuels used in cooking remain a significant danger to the population that robs Indian children, girls in particular, of their breath. However, with cleaner sources such as biogas, and even the improved rocket stove cookstoves, this narrative can indeed be changed.
Therefore, what can you contribute to and stay connected with us? Spread the word! Pass this information on to your friends and relatives, contribute to the cleaning cook stoves in India cause, or even host a fund raising dinner where the food prepared and served is cooked using clean energy means – taste and help to make a difference at the same time! Small changes in behavior that you and I make today would go a long way in helping India’s children of tomorrow.
It is time to switch off the hidden killer stove and start to raise the temperature for the clean and bright future for children of India.
