Sector Directory

Organization

Switch ON

Mission

Switch ON is a grass-root organization creating an ecosystem to facilitate last mile access to energy and promote livelihoods through rural energy entrepreneurship by training, capacity building and supporting innovation.

We create a linkage between energy access, income generation and community development.

OUR INNOVATION
Switch ON's unique approach of providing entrepreneurial solution to challenges of renewable energy adaptation in rural areas provides an innovative model for addressing economic and energy poverty in rural India.

WHOLISTIC APPROACH® â€“ While Switch ON creates the infrastructure to support renewable energy, ONergy provides quality products and servicing, thus ensuring that all markets gaps are addressed.

DEVELOPING ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION® â€“ Switch ON provides appropriate skills®  and creates opportunities for rural people through sustainable development

ADDRESSING MARKETING GAP® -®  Switch ON identifies the existing needs and challenges to wide scale adaptation of renewable energy and converts them into job opportunities for rural entrepreneurs

INNOVATION INCUBATOR® â€“ Switch ON tests different innovative financial and distribution models on ground and co-develops technology to make energy access available for exiting rural needs.

Other Organization Type

Ensuring Last Mile Access of Renewable Energy in Eastern India

Organizational Expertise

Adoption / Behavior Change, Capacity Building, Climate/Environment, Livelihoods, Research

Other Organizational Expertise

We have been in the business of distributing different Improved Cook Stove In rural West Bengal, since 2011. In 2011, we have trained rural women entrepreneurs on installing Sarala fixed improved cook stoves and then through them distributed that cook stoves at a subsidized amount, whereby the customers were charged a minimal amount for the Sarala fixed improved cook stoves. No one has adopted these cook stoves. Whereas some of them have dismantled these cook stoves in their kitchen, some of them have used the asbestos pipe (a component of these cook stoves) and modified them into an indigenous cook stove. In 2012, we have also distributed Greenway Smart portable improved cook stoves at a subsidized amount, whereby Bank of India has paid 80% of the market price of the cook stove and thereby only 20% were charged from the customers (account-holders of the bank). This became very popular among the customers. But most of the households have been using these cook stoves occasionally. In 2013, we auctioned 5 types of different used portable improved cook stoves at a highly discounted price. The rural households had to pay a nominal amount (between Rs. 100/- to Rs. 350/-). The households purchasing these cook stoves in spite of buying them, has been using these cook stoves occasionally. We have also given out Bharatlaxmi fixed improved cook stoves to the rural households where they did not have to pay any money. Most of the households are using these cook stoves regularly, as this does not require any modification in their cooking style and habits.

Technologies & Fuels

Biomass (Ag. Residue, Processed Biomass, etc.)

Other Technologies Fuels

Since 2011 we have working with Improved Biomass Cook Stove to develop its last mile access. We have also been working on Solar Technologies since 2009. We have been successfully propagating Solar Home Lighting System since 2009 We have been propagating Solar Water Heating System since 2011 We are piloting Solar Irrigation Pump since 2013 We are piloting Solar Learning Centre since 2012 We are piloting Agro-Supply Chain since 2013

Clean Cooking Activities

Indoor air pollution is a serious risk experienced by thousands of women in the rural villages of West Bengal. In response to reduce the risk, Switch ON (ECS) and ONergy have tied up with the Karnataka based organization TIDE in developing the technical aspects of the improved cookstove. TIDE has been engaged in training rural women to build fuel-efficient smokeless stoves for themselves and in their neighbourhoods and to create smoke free kitchens in rural Karnataka. ECS has been implementing Sarala cookstove training program in West Bengal with the technical support from TIDE.

These women constructed Sarala stoves at homes in Lakshmikantapur and Dakhin Barasat, South 24 Parganas district. In total 19 cook stoves were built in the area. But the improved cook stoves were not fully adopted by these households. In response, we conducted interviews of seventy six women during August and September 2012. This survey provided us information on the general cooking practices of women, including utensils used, food prepared, and fuels used for cooking. Following this, we conducted 45 in-depth interviews in South 24 Parganas District, in villages around Lakshmikantapur and Dakshin Barasat. This interview series also included taking measurements of kitchen size, stove dimensions, and kerosene usage, the purpose of which was to use women's' current practices and preferences to inform the selection of cook stoves for a future user testing pilot. After this series of interviews, we identified the ideal characteristics for clean cook stoves:

In West Bengal, the most common type of stove is a fixed model made of mud, with an open chamber partially underground. Women typically feed biomass into the stove as it burns, rather than fill the combustion chamber and then light the fire. In this study, 71% of the homes we visited, at various income levels, have 2-4 additional stoves.

Most women have a kitchen either in front of their home or in a separate semi-outdoor room, and many also have one outdoors; cooking inside the home is less common. Even in homes constructed of brick or concrete, the kitchen is more likely to be made of mud or thatch than made of the same material.®  The most popular primary fuel source in the region is dry leaves, from coconut and banana trees as well as smaller leaves used as kindling.®  In the rainy season, wet leaves are harder to burn, so women store extra fuel indoors.®  They also use more cow dung and wood during the rainy season.® 

USER'S ACCEPTANCE TEST
During the next quarter we worked with GIZ Indo-German Energy Programme on a user testing pilot in the district of South 24 Parganas, in West Bengal. As a part of this project, sixty households in six villages tested each of the seven improved cook stoves for a week and gave their feedback on the ease of use, effectiveness at reducing smoke and fuel needs, and desirability of the stoves. The objective of the program is to find a good improved cook stove model to market, in West Bengal.® 

The testing period began on March 18th and concluded on May 6th. For the first five weeks, participating households tested the various portable stove models. The last two weeks from April 22nd to May 5th the households tested two fixed cook stoves (Bharatlaxmi and Sarala). Each Monday, the stoves were rotated among the participating households in a village. The village coordinators visited the homes on Mondays to collect feedback from women on the previous weeks' stove and brief them on how to use each model. On Wednesdays, they check in with households to make sure they are using the stoves and address any issues. After the user-testing of the cook stoves for 7 weeks, we conducted focus group discussion sessions at each of the villages to analyze and compare the different cook stoves and then a final auctioning event to determine the ideal value of each of the stoves and also to motivate and recognize the participation of the users.

After the participants have used both Bharatlaxmi and Sarala (both are fixed model Improved Cook Stoves), we went back to them asking about the comparative feedback between Sarala, Bharalaxmi and their Traditional cook-stove. We received a variety of feedback from the participants. Whereas for some of the participants, both Sarala and Bharatlaxmi worked well, for others either the Sarala cook stove was not lighting up or the chimney was not functioning properly. Therefore, it might mean that there were some faults in installation of Sarala cook stoves.

We discussed with the cook stove builders who had built both Sarala as well as Bharatlaxmi cook stoves, to get a comparative feedback on experience of installing both the fixed improved cook stoves. The cook stove builders reported that they found it very difficult to install Sarala cook stove than the Bharatlaxmi cook stove. Also they felt that since installation of Bharatlaxmi requires to build a platform and then fixing the structure (8 readymade bricks tied with a wire) on the platform, there is very little scope of installation fault. On the other hand, since installation of Sarala requires more specification of the grate, the foundation of the chimney and also filling the gaps in the mould with mud tightly, there could be many scope of installation fault remaining in a Sarala cook stove. Also since installation of Sarala cook stove requires that the mud needs to be harder during installation, it is more laborious for the cook stove builders to install the Sarala cook stove and therefore works as a de-motivating factor for the cook stove builders.® 

From our survey we learnt that:
- Many of the women would love to have a cook stove which reduces the smoke emission, not so much for their health reason, but for protecting the cleanliness of their houses.
- Most of the women were insisting for a need to have cook stove which will reduce their cooking time
- Most of the women expressed the need to acquire a cook stove which can use various forms of bio-mass fuels like, rice straw, wood, etc.
- The women are very sensitive about the money they have to spend for acquiring fuel, but they are not so sensitive about the time they have to spend to acquire the fuels.
- Many of the women are used to shift their cook stove from one part of the house to another part, based on the weather condition.

CURRENT INITIATIVE
The improved cook-stove market in India is in a very nascent stage. The growth of the market will depend on the development of sustainable business models that address the challenges in demand creation, ensure cost-effective distribution and enhance affordability for the end user. Therefore, in order to pilot and scale up sustainable business models and practices for marketing of improved biomass stoves in rural India, we are planning to:
®·® ® ® ® ® ® ® ®  develop a tool kit and audio-visual content for generating awareness and demand,
®·® ® ® ® ® ® ® ®  develop appropriate models and mechanisms for end user finance and
®·® ® ® ® ® ® ® ®  develop cost-effective stove distribution and logistics models

Partnership

SwitchON is supporting in the process of implementing a pilot scale up of the model for increasing demand, streamlining supply and strengthening market eco-system to increase the last-mile access of clean cook stoves to the rural households of West Bengal in India.

GIZ-IGEN is supporting in this process by drafting an awareness building toolkit, a consumer financing model and a logistic distribution model. These models will be implemented by ONergy in rural West Bengal. Local Micro Finance Institution will be ensuring the financing schemes and its collection be implemented.

SwitchON is seeking the support of Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves in developing grass-root level rural entrepreneur and capacitating them and also developing a network of marketing system to scale up adaption of improved cook stove in rural West Bengal.

With previous experience of SwitchON in training and capacitating rural entrepreneurs and also with its team consisting of team members, who are very experienced in designing and implementing different types of training and capacitation programme, Switch ON is perfectly well-placed to capacitate a network of rural entrepreneurs and setting up a system for this very intense marketing move for the clean cookstoves. Switch ON experienced in and also consisting of team members skilled and experienced in developing business model and implementing them, is also very well-equipped in setting up the business model for the rural entrepreneurs. With the organization and its team members based at and also experienced in the rural market of West Bengal and Odisha, can relate to the first-hand feedback from the rural women households of the region and can translate them into international standard of capacitation programme and also busines experience.

Regions Operating In

South Asia

Country Based In

India

Address

1A, D. L. Khan Road,
Near Kolkata Police Training School
Kolkata, West Bengal 700027

Website

https://switchon.org.in/India/

Primary Point of Contact

Name: Mr. Ashim Boral

Title: Chief Project Manager

Email: ashim@switchon.org.in

Phone: 91 8420104759

Secondary Point of Contact

Name: Ms. Ekta Kothari

Title: Secretary

Email: ekta@switchon.org.in

Phone: 91 9331118105