“Times have changed, change your stove” campaign launched in Bangladesh
Continuing to expand its efforts around behavior change communication, last month, the Alliance launched a new campaign in Bangladesh to promote “modern stoves.” Targeting households in peri-urban areas of Dhaka and Khulna, the campaign seeks to leverage people’s aspirations to be more “modern” by using the tagline “Times have changed, change your stove.”
The campaign is a collaborative effort with the Sustainable Renewable Energy Development Authority (SREDA) of the Government of Bangladesh. Activities will be focused at the community level and will include a range of communication channels and techniques, including screenings of a dramatic film via mobile cinema, street theater, stove demonstrations, home visits where information and videos will be shared via interactive tablets, and outdoor advertising on rickshaws and tea shops.
The launch of the campaign was presided over by the Honorable State Minister for Power, Energy & Mineral Resources, Mr. Nasrul Hamid, who stated that “Each of these stoves can change the household environment and save lives, especially of our mothers and children.” An estimated crowd of 4,000 attended the event, which featured a cooking competition and demonstrations by stove and fuel suppliers. Anowar Sikder, Chairman of SREDA, praised the effort to offer a range of stoves, including pellet based stoves, so that women and households can choose from a variety of options.
The “modern stove” campaign will be implemented by a joint venture between two Bangladesh based agencies, Unitrend and Purplewood, and will run in 12 upazillas over the next three months. Learnings from the campaign will be incorporated into a behavior change communication intervention being developed by the Social Marketing Company (SMC), an awardee of the Alliance’s Clean Cooking BCC Fund.