Our volunteer Nick attended the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves’ Clean Cooking Forum in Delhi in October 2017, while on a year’s placement at Prakti. As part of our collaborative projects programme, Nick provided mechanical and manufacturing expertise to Prakti.
Prakti is a leader in clean cookstove technology. Their award-winning range of stoves is designed with their primary users in mind: the women who cook with them. Based in Auroville in India, Prakti consults local women about the stove design and usability.
At the forum, Nick heard NGOs, funders, consultants, medical professionals and policymakers discussed the importance of clean energy cookstoves. He was impressed with the number of different companies and organisations demonstrating innovative cookstove concepts, with fuels ranging from waste cooking oil to processed wood pellets.
Nick was also struck by how important it is for social enterprises and manufacturers to work directly with their users: “As a research centre, Prakti has an advantage by being located in India. The proximity to the customers helps us to understand their needs and quickly test concepts.”
Prakti India is our Engineering for People Design Challenge partner organisation for the academic year 2018-2019.
