te measures that reduce Indoor Air Pollution thereby saving and improving lives and reducing CO2 emissions. In an effort to expand reach of campaign, Shell Foundation requested support of District Administration, Zilla Parishad and respective departments of the State Government.All the concerned departments are now working together with the Shell Foundation team to find ways to reach the message of reducing smoke in the kitchen across the entire district.
The program is taking the message to 111 villages in Shimoga district through a combination of on-ground static and interactive activities like display of wall posters and wall paintings, mobile van campaigns and neighbourhood gatherings featuring flipchart stories, interactive games, street plays, stove demonstrations and a sustained activist householder (SAH) program. The high intensity campaign will be conducted over 90-day time period between October and December 2009.
The campaign is being reached to the people through active supp
ort from District Administration including the health and education infrastructure, village level health workers and demonstration of campaign for Gram Panchayats.The campaign in Shimoga district is an initiative by Shell Foundation to focus on promoting the internationally-recognised, most effective and sustainable method for tackling IAP, namely ‘improved stoves’ that significantly reduce emissions and fuel use.
At a press conference on November 3, 2009 in Shimoga, Anuradha Bhavnani, Country Head for the Shell Foundation said that, "We are very pleased to be launching this new initiative in Shimoga and hope the activities we conduct will be a showcase for a campaign that we would eventually like to expand across southern India. Our basic concern is that women should not be dying as a result of cooking meals for their families. If we can convince families to adopt improved cook stoves we will begin to prevent this from happening."
Extending support towards the campaign, Mr. Hemachandra, Chief Executive Officer, Zilla Panchyat, Shimoga said that, “The issue of Indoor Air Pollution is qui
te prominent in the rural areas of Shimoga. Although, we have been constantly taking measures to reduce its impact, some of the rural population is yet unaware of its harmful effects. By creating awareness among the people, this village-to-village campaign by Shell Foundation will help strengthen efforts to deal with the issue of Indoor Air Pollution.”Globally, reliance on solid fuels is one of the 10 most important threats to public health. One person around the world dies every 20 seconds from the cumulative effects of IAP, resulting in approximately 1.5 million deaths per year, thus making IAP the world’s fourth biggest killer after malnutrition, unsafe sex and lack of safe water and sanitation. (Source: World Health Organization 2002).
Indoor Air Pollution in India results from burning biomass (like wood, crop waste and animal dung) during cooking in the home. The toxic emissions and smoke from this cooking claims as many as 400,000 lives in India every year, most of whom are women and children due to their increased exposure in the home,
Shell Foundation has also developed the concept of ‘standardization of stoves’ to be able to directly connect the campaign with the improved stoves. The mark called ‘Symbol of trust’ will appear on the packaging and marketing materials of all improved stove manufacturers i.e. those that have passed rigorous tests on
minimum emissions and fuel reduction standards as laid down by international bodies. At the local level, this mark will double-up as a ‘standards mark’ to indicate an improved stove that will reduce smoke levels by as much as 55%, while using 40% less fuel.111 villages, with populations larger than 2000 people, will be covered in this campaign in the Shimoga district across its seven taluks namely Bhadravathi, Sagar, Sorab, Shimoga, Theerthahalli, Shikaripur and Hosanagara.
The campaign running through a stretch of 90 days includes an outdoor campaign that communicates the message through posters and wall paintings. The Village to Village campaign involves engaging local villagers
through neighbourhood gatherings hosting a stream of mobile van campaigns, flip chart stories, street plays, interactive games and contests to give people a sense of involvement.The campaign is being taken to the doorstep using the concept of Sustained Activist Householder who is an active local village lady visiting various households and informing the villagers about the problems of IAP and its solution – use of improved stoves standardised with the ‘mark of trust’ through flipchart stories and distribution of leaflets. Smokeless-Stove demos being conducted at weekly markets will introduce villagers to the benefits and effective use of stoves by providing them with a first-hand experience of using the stove.
At present, the campaign by Shell Fo
undation will highlight to the villagers the presence of independent improved stove manufacturers like Envirofit and Selco who have launched a range of clean burning biomass cookstoves in the country designed by teams of globally recognized scientists and engineers.The Shell Foundation sees this awareness campaign as one of the most exciting and important developments in its fight against IAP.
