After selling about 2.5 lakh stoves in the four southern States, Envirofit India Pvt Ltd, pioneers in reducing indoor air pollution (IAP), is now focusing on western India through a pilot project in partnership with Amul which will help market improved cook stoves (ICS) to those dependent on biomass for cooking food at home.
To start with, Amul and Envirofit, who launched the campaign last week, will reach more than 30 lakh IAP-affected people in Anand and Kheda districts of central Gujarat, Mr Harish Anchan, Managing Director, Envirofit India, told Business Line here.
As part of its CSR activity, health workers from the Kaira Milk Cooperative Union, that owns and markets Amul brand products, will work on creating awareness about IAP amongst its members. These workers will be trained by Envirofit and the Shell Foundation.
Initially, they will reach members in 300 villages and then target six lakh households in 1,000 villages in what is a sustainable CSR-cum-marketing activity.
Subsidy
The ICS, costing Rs 1,899, will be sold at a subsidised rate of Rs 1,299, including a subsidy of Rs 200 from Kaira Union. Envirofit will pay a subsidy of Rs 400 by way of adjustment against the carbon credits it will get.
According to WHO, Mr Anchan said, about half the world's population, i.e. 3,500 million, depended on biomass for cooking food. IAP claims 19 lakh lives a year globally, including five lakh in India, where 60 per cent people still use biomass.
ICS helps reduce air pollution due to incomplete combustion of biomass by 80 per cent. “In fact, we are introducing 100 per cent smokeless stoves in mid-2012, priced up to Rs 3,000, that will be as good as LPG.”
Envirofit International, a US-based not-for-profit technology organization, has manufacturing plants in the Philippines, Sri Lanka,Aurangabad (India) and Thailand to roll out 50,000 cook stoves every month. Envirofit India has so far partnered with a number of organizations and corporates for marketing its products.