Saraswoti Bal and Som Singh Bal - with an improved stove and smoke hood
Loading...
Authors
Prabin Gurung
Issue Date
2016-08
Type
Language
en
Keywords
Energy
Alternative Title
Abstract
Saraswoti is 26 years old, she lives in the small village of Dandubhanjyang, Nepal with her husband Som and their 2 daughters aged 3 and 6. Their small village is home to 18 families. Some of the families were badly affected by the earthquake, in the worst cases their homes were destroyed or it was too dangerous to return to them because they were so fragile. Access to the village is difficult as the terrain is mountainous. “Before, when we had a traditional stove, it took so long to cook and was so smoky.” “We bought a gas stove before the earthquake.” (expensive and difficult to buy fuel) “It was always smoky. My eyes would water all the time. I could feel it on my chest.” Som added “We suffered a lot, especially during the rainy season. The wood takes forever to burn. Now we have the smoke hood, it is easier and better.” “I feel my wife has suffered a lot.” Saraswoti continued “I had the children with me when I cooked. They used to complain about the smoke.” “I knew about smoke related disease. Cancer, pneumonia, but I had no choice.” “I would worry.” “I remember when I was young. The house was full of smoke. I used to run away.” “We were always trying to move towards a solution, we knew it was affecting everyone.” “I now get to spend more time with my children, help them with homework. We also have more time to farm.” “Before, it took 3 hours to get firewood. During winter, it’s almost every day, so we would store it.” “The main thing is that we are now free from smoke related illness.” “We heard that it affects women a lot, we were told that it increases uterus cancer. We now don’t have to worry about it.” “This is much easier and quicker.”
Description
Citation
Publisher
License
All Rights Reserved
All rights reserved
All rights reserved