Traditional firewood cookstoves are not just appliances for cooking food. They are cultural products that have evolved over centuries to serve the needs of the local community according to local cuisine, average family sizes and availability of fuel.
Taking on the challenge of redesigning a product so firmly embedded in the community is not easy. In an interview for Smoke in the Kitchen, Harish Anchan, Managing Director of Envirofit India, details the company’s story so far in the improved cookstove space.
Designing the product
“We feel that a cookstove should reflect the voice of the consumer” explains Harish. To hear this voice, Envirofit assessed the needs of 120 families in South India, tracking their cooking habits extensively. This research shaped the design of the first Envirofit stove launched in 2008.
“We did not stop there. Over the years we have constantly made changes and improvements to the stoves. The Envirofit stove that was developed in 2008 is very different from the stove being marketed in 2011.”
Why India?
This local research-based approach to design has been key to the success of Envirofit, and explains why the company has focused operations in the South of India so far.
“120 million households in India cook their daily meals by burning biomass fuel (wood, animal dung or agricultural waste)”Anchan says, outlining Envirofit’s reasons for choosing India as its launch market.
“Most meals are cooked on open fires or rudimentary, inefficient stoves that release high levels of toxic emissions into people’s homes. The World Health Organisation estimates that this Indoor Air Pollution kills over half a million people in India each year, with 56% of these deaths occurring in children under 5.”
Getting to market
Choosing the launch market and designing the perfect cookstove were only the first pieces of the puzzle for Envirofit. Marketing the cookstoves to an audience unused to investing in such appliances, and ensuring adequate distribution networks were in place, were both vital factors to guaranteeing success.
Envirofit made use of multiple existing networks to reach customers, including “traditional retail distribution networks, Government, NGOs, MFIs, institutions, village entrepreneurs and self-help groups”. Each of these routes offers Envirofit different opportunities. “Distribution networks service customers by providing stoves to their doorsteps at a very low margin, whereas NGOs spread the social message of the company and build awareness of the general issues surrounding IAP.”
Traditional retail networks have proven very effective in getting Envirofit stoves to end users. Anchan identifies utensil shops as being particularly effective retail spaces in this capacity.
Traditional retail networks have proven very effective in getting Envirofit stoves to end users. Anchan identifies utensil shops as being particularly effective retail spaces in this capacity.
A common misconception is that affordability remains one of the biggest barriers to increased sales of improved cookstoves. Envirofit’s experience does not tally with this: “Affordability has only been perceived as an issue when the product is marketed solely as a solution that deals with health hazards. When people realise the cost savings improved cookstoves offer, as well as their aspirational value, they are less concerned about affordability.”
Success so far
Envirofit stoves reduce harmful emissions by up to 80%, and require up to 60% less fuel. They have an average operational lifespan of 5 years, compared to the six months offered by traditional clay cookstoves. These factors have enabled Envirofit to sell over 200,000 units so far, which Anchan estimates means they have impacted the lives of one million people. He is not content to stop there: “A far larger challenge exists and we are therefore building distribution alliances, micro-finance partnerships and tapping into rural networks to take cookstoves to more customers.”
Looking Ahead
What does the future hold for Envirofit? Anchan identifies carbon finance as a key activity for the company over the coming months, and something that has the potential to drastically increase the reach and social effects of Envirofit’s work. “Envirofit is working with Eco-Securities to provide carbon finance in India. We have submitted documents for registration to the voluntary carbon programme, making us the first domestic stoves carbon trading programme in India. Once we have access to carbon finance, we can offset it against the cost of manufacturing stoves and raising awareness.”
Role of Government
“The Government has a crucial role in addressing India’s development challenges and we look to support this in every way we can. With regard to clean cookstoves, they can help in three major ways. First, by creating an eco-system for stove manufacturers through awareness campaigns which will enable rapid creation of markets for stoves. Second, the Government can utilize and mobile networks to solve the problem of last mile access by creating better distribution channels. And third, by enabling low interest loans akin to farm loans, the Government can enable the poorest of the poor to buy improved cook stoves. The new Government cookstoves initiative is delivering progress in each area and we want to form deeper partnerships to enable this work to benefit the people most impacted by IAP”.
Exciting times lie ahead for Envirofit India.
