The cookstove is made of iron and costs between Rs 1500 and Rs 3000 in local markets and Bhutan.
According to a paper by J S Rawat, Dhruba Sharma, G Nimachow and Oyi Dai from the Department of Geography and Department of Botany, Rajiv Gandhi University, in Doimukh, Itanagar and published in Current Science, the stove is user friendly and has multiple features that meet the needs of the local climate. According to the researchers in the paper titled "Energy efficient chulha in rural Arunachal Pradesh", the stove consumes 50–60% less firewood per family per year compared to the traditional chulha (cookstove). According to the authors, "the improved chulha, with higher thermal efficiency of 60% compared to 6–8% in traditional ones, has potential to conserve firewood, thereby saving forests. It has longer life and can serve for 20–25 years if used judiciously."
The new stove has an iron body which emits sufficient heat to keep households warm in a state which has severe winters. The stove has features that reduce fire risk which is fairly high during the dry season in Arunachal Pradesh, according to the paper. The knob and safety lead help retain fire for longer periods. The ash tray at the bottom of the fire chamber prevents ash from falling on the floor and keeps the room clean and safe. The enclosed structure keeps the fire chamber warm which helps fuel to reach its combustion point rapidly and burn efficiently.As a result, it produces sufficient heat with far lesser use of firewood.
The indigenously developed improved cookstove has very significant implications in this Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot which is among the 25 identified hotspots worldwide. With more than 500 plant species of medicinal and pharmacological significance, this area is considered as a major ethno-botanical hotspot3–5. The state has 81.25% of area under forest cover inhabited by 26 major tribes.
More than 90% of the population use biomass as primary source of energy. This high dependency on firewood for cooking, water heating, space heating, lighting and livestock rearing, etc. is a major cause of forest destruction. According to the paper, the average per capita firewood consumption in the northeast is higher than the Indian national consumption level with rural–urban gap ranging from 17 to 52 kg. The consumption in rural areas of Arunachal Pradesh is about 61 kg per month which is almost three times higher than the national consumption rate.
The improved chulha, say the authors, has proved to be a boon to rural women, as it saves about 300 kg of fuel wood equivalent per year, besides reducing health hazards. This model, says the paper, is however, more suitable for the colder regions where room heating is needed during most part of the year and hot water is necessary round the clock.
The state of Arunachal Pradesh in north-east India is uniquely situated in the transition zone between the Himalayan and Indo-Burmese regions. Arunachal falls within the Eastern Himalaya global biodiversity hotspot and is also among the 200 globally important ecoregions. It harbours the world’s northernmost tropical rainforests and is estimated to contain nearly 50% of the total flowering plant species in India.
