Central Data Catalog

On a sunny morning in September, 2018, I visited my home village to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi, a festival observed in Maharashtra, India. As my brother and I were walking across the street to pluck some hibiscus for an offering to Lord Ganesh, the lord of wisdom, our neighbour Mrs Usha saw us and invited us in for tea. She quickly lit her liquified petroleum gas (LPG) stove and made us sugar-laden milk tea. While we chatted, Mrs Usha was also arranging some acacia firewood and farmwaste near the Chulha (biomass cookstove) so that she could continue to cook curry. She told us that her two sons who live in the city were visiting her with their families for the festival and she was excited to cook their favourite dishes. She also added, with a teary-eyed smile, that their families like the home-cooked food on the Chulha more than that cooked on the LPG stove; moreover, the firewood is free. Although she knows that LPG is smoke free, using it regularly is expensive for her.
Until recently, Usha Kaku, as we fondly call her, had been cooking solely on a Chulha since she got married 20 years ago. She recalls how her mother taught her to use the Chulha when she was younger. Although they purchased an LPG stove a few years ago, it is a prized possession, which she uses only on rare occasions. She was not aware that household air pollution caused by the use of biomass is one of the major risk factors for a range of diseases, including respiratory diseases and cataracts. Women, who are the primary cooks in the region, are largely affected, and, at times, even the children who accompany their mother in the kitchen.
Despite this fact, nearly half of the world's population still depend on the use of biomass for domestic cooking. We collectively need to take steps to reduce the pollution caused by the domestic use of biomass fuels indoors.