Cookstoves for forest conservation in Teknaf, Bangladesh

^{A student from Hnila Girl's High School accepts a sapling from Khursid Alam (CODEC) and Ishtiaq Uddin Ahmad (IUCN) © Shital Kumar Nath / CODEC}

With support from Mangroves for the Future (MFF), the Community Development Centre (CODEC), a local NGO, has introduced the bhandhu chula – an improved variety of cookstove – to the villages of Rakahyan (Chowdhury) Para, Jalia Para and Natmura Para of Teknaf’s Hnila sub-district.

Less fuel-intensive than traditional cookstoves, bhandhu chulas have reduced the monthly consumption of wood by 70kg per family. As part of the project, CODEC has also distributed 14,000 saplings of indigenous tree species for local families to plant and use to meet future fuel wood needs. These saplings are expected to provide each family with over 80kg of fuel wood per month, as well as fruit for household consumption.

^{Distribution of palm saplings to members of participating communities in Hnila, Teknaf © Shital Kumar Nath / CODEC}

The bhandhu chula is less time-consuming to use and produces much less smoke than traditional cookstoves, thus presenting less harm to women's health. The improved cookstoves have saved women at least 24 days of cooking time per year. A family of five also saves over US $90 annually and experiences fewer health problems than those who have not yet made the transition. The use of trees provided by CODEC for both firewood and fruit also reduces pressure on the surrounding forests.

“I have been using the bhandhu chula in my kitchen for almost a year and have not experienced any issues with it,” said Mrs Joyoti, from Jalia Para. “It does not produce smoke, and so no black soot layer is formed outside of the pots. My respiratory disease has also gotten better. My fuel costs have dropped by half, and also my cooking time has been reduced.”

At first, it was not easy to motivate the villagers to replace their old stoves with bhandhu chulas. “When the project first started, people were sceptical,” said Mr Shital Kumar Nath, a member of CODEC’s project staff. They had no previous experience with the improved cookstoves, and no reason to trust that they would be beneficial.

^{Jalia Para community members vote in favour of improved cookstoves © Shital Kumar Nath / CODEC}

To convince the villagers to try out the bhandhu chula, CODEC conducted door-to-door visits, provided the cookstoves for free, and explained the many benefits of the stoves and the project. These personal interactions proved to be effective, with about 3% of households agreeing to participate in the project. Within a year, another 64% of households had followed their neighbours’ lead. “In the end, people were asking us to extend the duration of the project,” said Shital.

The introduction of bhandu chulas to 410 households and the planting of trees have saved 753 metric tonnes of fuel wood that would have been collected throughout the year, and saved each family around US $92.The lives of the residents of the three villages have also been transformed by the health and financial benefits of the improved cookstoves.