‘Clean cook stoves help women save money, environment’

What is a clean cook stove?A clean cook stove is a stove with zero or less emission of black carbon than the traditional cook stoves, it consumes less fuel, it smokes less and cooks fast. Clean cook stoves are specially designed to reduce the risk of deaths caused by indoor smoke from solid fuel or […]

What is a clean cook stove?
A clean cook stove is a stove with zero or less emission of black carbon than the traditional cook stoves, it consumes less fuel, it smokes less and cooks fast. Clean cook stoves are specially designed to reduce the risk of deaths caused by indoor smoke from solid fuel or indoor air pollution.

What inspired you into producing clean cook stove?
My inspiration lies in the wonder of the clean cook stove itself. I always wanted a source of livelihood that will give me the opportunity to add value to people’s lives. I found that by making Roshan clean cook stove, I save the lives of women and children from the health hazards associated with poor modes of cooking such as burns and respiratory disease caused by smoke and burns from open fire cooking.
Using clean cook stove helps women to save money, because the  Roshan Clean cook stove for instance consumes very little charcoal therefore the money that will have been used to buy charcoal is reduced and used for other things. They can use the money they saved to pay their children’s  school fees or save the money to start a business or even eat better meals.
Clean cook stoves also saves time in cooking. Women don’t have to spend time fetching firewood.
More so, the use of clean cook stoves helps save the environment from harmful gases and reduce deforestation. Since the stove uses less charcoal, less trees will be fallen and products such as corn stalk can also be used. This amazing truths about the clean cook stove inspired me  into making my own brand of clean cook stoves, Roshan Energy saving stoves. I wish to make it widely accepted and available  in the Nigerian market as it has been in other countries.

How do you think it will benefit households in the country particularly poor women at the grassroots who have been using firewood or kerosene stove?
The benefits of the stove to households and women in the grass root are numerous:
Clean cook stoves like the Roshan Energy saving stove uses 50% less charcoal than the traditional cook stove, therefore with just little charcoal that cost less, one is able to cook meals for the family, thereby saving money for the family.
Secondly the stove is smokeless. The health hazards associated with smoke is eliminated. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) smoke kills one person every eight seconds. When a clean cook stove is used, a family is saved from the dangers of smoke and women and children will be able to live long productive years rather than being bed ridden because of the act of cooking.
Another benefit is that less charcoal is used, less number of trees are fallen, thus the environment is saved from deforestation which has harmful effects on the environment. Roshan stove can also use fuel from bio-waste such as coconut waste, sawdust, and corn stalk and tree branches therefore eliminating the need to fall trees. Thus keeping the environment safe for the next generation.
The stove is also affordable and cheap to maintain for example if you use one mudu of charcoal once, with Roshan stove you can use it twice and charcoal is cheaper and more readily available than gas and kerosene.
The risk of burn from open fire for women and children is eliminated as our Clean Cook stove is highly insulated, so heat does not escape to cause burns.
 Roshan clean cook stove empowers women both from savings made from using less charcoal and by making women the distributors of the stoves as they get paid commission on each stove sold.

What is your target sales in the Nigerian market?
Nigeria is a very large market, but we have to start from somewhere. So we are starting from our locality by convincing the end user (women) to switch to Roshan clean cook stoves, so our target sales for now is 200-1000 stoves a month. Women will be used to market and distribute the stoves in every locality and our stoves will be given at distributor price to our distributors. So they are able to earn commission on each stove, thereby giving our distributors a source of livelihood and  contributing to women empowerment.

What are your challenges as a female entrepreneur?
Well regarding this business since the clean cook stove is a new innovation in the country some people are still unaware of its benefits so we are trying to create awareness.  We have challenges getting raw material to make the stoves, we still need skilled workers, and of course finances to expand the business.
But I will advise women who want to go into business or become entrepreneurs not to give up in the face of challenges. Every problem has a solution and with time they will succeed and record positive results no matter the kind of business.