Clearing the Air: One Woman’s Quest to Bring Clean Cooking to Families in Nepal
Bambie Gadon Panta is the Country Director of The Cookstove Project Nepal. She works to increase awareness of the dangers of traditional cooking methods and to improve the health of women and children. The Cookstove Project builds improved cookstoves for families in Nepal using locally sourced materials and supports them in maintaining and caring for their stoves. 听
少妇自慰 interviewed Bambie about her work and the people she serves through the project. 听
This story is part of a series showcasing women change-makers in the clean cooking sector.鈥�
鈥淚 vividly remember entering the kitchen of one of our beneficiaries,鈥� said Bambie Gadon Panta. 鈥淭he mother was breastfeeding her baby while simultaneously cooking. Her other two small children with her in the kitchen had red eyes and runny noses. The kitchen was so full of smoke that I couldn鈥檛 breathe. My eyes and nose were stinging, so I left within three seconds. I asked her how they could be in that kitchen. She said they didn鈥檛 have a choice.鈥� 听For Panta, this experience strengthened her resolve to give women and children an alternative to suffering from inhaling dangerous smoke. 听
As the Country Director for The Cookstove Project in Nepal, a non-profit organization,听Panta has spent the past decade providing improved cookstoves to more than 6,000 families in Nepal. 鈥淚t is a responsibility to ensure that what we positively impact the people we serve,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 believe that an intervention is needed for families using traditional stoves. They need to be aware of the detrimental effects of indoor air pollution on their health. Women need to know they have a choice and be given an alternative.鈥�听
Panta thrives on being directly involved with the people whose lives she aims to improve. 鈥淚 enjoy visiting our working areas and talking to the recipients as this helps me understand them better, see how the project impacts them, and think of ways to improve our service,鈥� she said. 鈥淟istening to our recipients’ stories on how the project has helped them improve their family鈥檚 health and reduce women鈥檚 heavy daily chores, especially in rural areas, motivates me to continue our work.鈥� 听
Panta believes in learning by doing and attributes this trait to keeping her grounded. 鈥淏ased on my interactions with communities and seeing the issues women face, I always try to find ways to help them and support their growth and development,鈥� she said.听听
Another aspect of Panta鈥檚 job is the responsibility for collaborating with other charitable organizations and local government units to provide improved services based on user feedback.听While the Government of Nepal is heavily promoting induction stoves for clean cooking, Panta urges for a more nuanced and tailored approach, focusing on understanding many peoples鈥� hesitancy to switch cooking fuels. 鈥淧eople in rural areas are hesitant to use induction stoves because of their cost, maintenance, and doubts about the stoves鈥� life span, so households still use firewood,鈥� Panta said. 鈥榃hile new technology helps increase access to clean cooking in developing countries, many factors must be considered to successfully implement it, including awareness, cost, and the availability of electricity and repair centers.鈥�听
Despite these reservations, Panta is optimistic that modern clean cooking solutions will eventually prevail once families realize their benefits. 鈥淐lean cooking projects have made women more aware of their choices and the benefits of good health and significantly reducing the time spent cooking and collecting fuel. They can now use the time saved for other activities such as life skills development, income generation, and leisure.鈥� 听
Panta has also witnessed clean cooking鈥檚 ability to reshape gender roles. 听
鈥淎 particular woman鈥檚 daily schedule was very hectic due to her household chores and farming responsibilities,鈥� Panta recalls. 鈥淎fter installing an improved cookstove in her home, her time spent cooking, cleaning the kitchen, and washing utensils lessened, and instead she was able to work with us as the project promoter in her community. Also, some husbands who don鈥檛 usually cook started cooking when the improved cookstove was installed, which has helped divide labor.鈥�听
Although incremental, this progress gives Panta the motivation to continue working toward improving women鈥檚 health and their quality of life. 鈥�I think there is a lack of research, especially on the needs, accessibility, and cultural aspects of the users,鈥� she said. 鈥�Governments, businesses, and donors need to work together to build long-term solutions that will meet the users’ needs, create awareness for behavioral change, facilitate easy access and maintenance, and provide subsidies.鈥�听
