How A Cook Stove Helped A Rural Woman Manage Business And Home

Women across the world multitask and such women are ubiquitous in India, as well. For few, it’s a way of life; and for few others, it’s a struggle for life. Draupadi Rana best fits in the latter category. She lives with her husband and three teenage children in a village in Kalahandi district of Odisha. She wakes up at 6 am and completes her household tasks by 7 am. She then prepares breakfast and takes it to the agricultural field where her husband would be working already. After having breakfast with her husband, she lends a helping hand to him. After working for an hour or two, she then leaves for the garment shop she set up. She runs it till the afternoon before returning home to eat lunch prepared by her daughter. She would relax for some time post lunch and then return back to the garment shop or agricultural fields to work or visit the nearby pond where she raises fish.

The improved cook stove she purchased with the help of a loan from Milaap did play a role in helping her successfully manage her garment business and household work. The cook stove greatly reduced the time she spends on cooking. She now spends only 2 hours every day: half an hour in the morning to prepare breakfast and an hour and half in the evening to prepare dinner. Besides the reduced cooking time, the clean air and the innocuous cooking environment provided by the new cook stove have been of great advantage to her; they help her maintain decent levels of energy and patience. She neither spends long time nor a high amount of her energy sitting next to the cook stove preparing food for the family. Instead, she earns a good level of income and helps her husband in sustaining the family.