Clean Cooking Alliance and Tata Trusts launch clean cooking campaign in Gujarat
Gujarat, 01 February 2019 – The Clean Cooking Alliance (the “Alliance”) and Tata Trusts, in association with Chef Sanjeev Kapoor and the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), rolled out a behavior change communications campaign in Rasnol village, Anand District, Gujarat. A joint effort by the Alliance, Shell, Tata Trusts, McCann Health, Sambodhi Research, Nexleaf Analytics, SEWA, and Dharma Life, the six-month campaign will aim to reach thousands of households across two districts each in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. The goal of the campaign is to influence consumer purchasing decisions and encourage the consistent use of cleaner, more modern stoves and fuels, such as Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), improved cookstoves, and induction cooktops.
The campaign will engage people at the district, village, and household levels through a variety of evidence-based communications strategies, including cooking competitions, street theater, door-to-door household interactions, informational videos aired through mobile movie theaters, and close collaboration with village and district leaders. In addition, campaign organizers will distribute bangles that can detect carbon monoxide and emit audio and visual warnings when the wearer is exposed to harmful emissions. Research will be conducted to understand the impacts of this campaign, and to identify the most effective tools.
The campaign launch began with a visit by Mr. Kapoor, Alliance CEO Dymphna van der Lans, and SEWA Founder Reema Nanavati to several households in Rasnol. The visitors met with residents and discussed topics such as cooking needs and aspirations, the simultaneous use of different cooking technologies and fuels, and opinions around accessing and using clean cooking solutions like LPG and induction stoves. The visit also included a meal at Kamala’s Kitchen, a SEWA enterprise that promotes the production and sale of local organic grains.
“The Government of India has made a very significant contribution to the issue of clean cooking,” said Ms. van der Lans. “However, no single stove, fuel, or business model can meet the cooking needs of every family. Improving access to different clean cooking solutions requires scaling up many technologies and business models.”
“The Alliance’s behavior change campaign is a great initiative to empower every woman and her family through creating awareness about the benefits of clean cooking,” said Mr. Kapoor. “As a culinary expert, I consider it my responsibility to keep inspiring my fellow Indians to protect the environment and live a healthy and sustainable life by opting for clean cooking solutions.”
The visit was followed by an entertaining and informative street play – one of the key components of the campaign. The play, performed in Gujarati, highlighted both the negative impacts of using inefficient stoves, as well as the benefits that adopting clean cooking solutions can have on health, the environment, livelihoods, and family wellbeing. In the future, at the end of the performance the actors will share an interactive voice response number through which callers will be able learn more about the various clean cooking solutions available to them.
About the Clean Cooking Alliance
The Clean Cooking Alliance works with a global network of partners to build an inclusive industry that makes clean cooking accessible to the three billion people who live each day without it. Established in 2010, the Alliance is driving consumer demand, building a pipeline of investible businesses, and fostering an enabling environment that allows the sector to thrive. Clean cooking transforms lives by improving health, protecting the climate and environment, empowering women, and helping families save time and money. Learn more about our work at www.CleanCookingAlliance.org.