Time Poverty and Clean Cooking: A Path to Freedom for Women

Cooking may seem like a straightforward task, but for over 3 billion people worldwide who rely on traditional fuels such as firewood and charcoal, it is a time-consuming and often dangerous responsibility. This heavy reliance on inefficient cooking fuels contributes to a phenomenon called "time poverty," where people, especially women and girls, have so little free time due to household duties that they miss out on other opportunities, such as education, work, and personal growth.

Clean cooking technologies can be a powerful solution to reduce time poverty. By replacing traditional cooking methods with cleaner, more efficient alternatives, millions of women and girls can reclaim precious hours each day. Clean cooking can not only improve health and economic stability, but also open up new pathways for education and empowerment.

Traditional chulha in use, Yavatmal, Maharashtra

Calculating Time Poverty

Example of Calculation:

If a household spends 3 hours daily on fuel collection and 2 hours on cooking using traditional stoves, they are dedicating 5 hours daily to cooking-related tasks. Over a week, this amounts to 35 hours. By introducing a clean cookstove that cuts cooking time by half and eliminates the need for fuel collection, the household could save 20 hours per week.

Time Poverty Indicators

Time poverty indicators often include:

• Daily or weekly hours spent on cooking-related tasks

• Comparison of time allocation with access to clean vs. traditional stoves

• Opportunity costs in terms of missed educational or economic activities

Through these methods, researchers can assess and quantify time poverty in cooking, demonstrating the significant time and resource savings that cleaner cooking methods can bring.

The Burden of Gathering Firewood

In rural areas, gathering firewood for cooking is often a daily task that consumes hours of the day. This responsibility frequently falls on women and children, who walk long distances to collect enough wood to last a day. This chore is physically exhausting, as they carry heavy loads back home, and it can also be dangerous due to the risk of injuries, attacks, or accidents along the way.

Lady collecting firewood in the outskirts of Mumbai

Moreover, burning wood and other biomass fuels releases harmful smoke, which affects the respiratory health of entire families. Breathing in smoke from open fires is linked to lung diseases, eye irritation, and other health issues, and is one of the leading causes of death for women and children in areas without access to clean cooking. On a larger scale, the constant need for firewood leads to deforestation, affecting local ecosystems and contributing to climate change.

Reducing Time Poverty Through Clean Cooking

Clean cooking solutions can help reduce time poverty by providing fuel-efficient stoves or clean fuel alternatives like LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), which require less time for gathering and cooking. By making cooking faster and reducing the need for frequent wood collection, clean cooking gives people more free hours each day. This "time dividend" can be transformative, especially for women and girls. Instead of spending hours on fuel collection, they can use that time for schooling, work, or rest.

Having more time available also gives women and girls the freedom to pursue personal and professional goals. Girls might be able to attend school regularly, and women might have the chance to work or start a small business. These shifts lead to a greater sense of independence and the ability to make choices that benefit their families and communities.

Families spend 0.5-1hr daily towards fuel collection efforts

Financial and Social Benefits

Clean cooking also has economic benefits. Traditional fuels like firewood and charcoal can be expensive, and by reducing the amount of fuel needed, clean cookstoves help households save money. These savings can then be used for other essentials, like food, healthcare, or education. This improved financial stability strengthens individual households and contributes to a more resilient community.

Additionally, when women have more time and financial resources, they gain a greater sense of empowerment and equality within their households and communities. Clean cooking, therefore, becomes a quiet but effective driver of social change, helping to lift families out of poverty and creating a more inclusive, equitable society.

Challenges in Transitioning

Switching from traditional fuels to clean cooking options isn't always easy. Many families use a combination of fuel sources, known as "fuel stacking," based on availability, cost, and cooking habits. For instance, while some may use firewood as a primary fuel, they might switch to LPG or other clean fuels when it's affordable or convenient. Transitioning fully to clean cooking requires reliable access to fuels, affordable options, and a willingness to adapt to new cooking methods.

The solution lies in offering a range of clean cooking options that respect people’s economic and cultural circumstances. For clean cooking to be effective and sustainable, it should be accessible, affordable, and adaptable. By gradually shifting toward cleaner fuels and cookstoves, families can experience the benefits of clean cooking without being forced to make an abrupt change.

Clean Cooking and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Clean cooking plays a critical role in meeting various Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It addresses SDG 1 (No Poverty) by reducing the financial burden of buying fuel, SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) by reducing exposure to harmful smoke, and SDG 5 (Gender Equality) by freeing up time and increasing opportunities for women and girls. Clean cooking also contributes to environmental goals, like SDG 13 (Climate Action), by reducing deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions.

Despite its importance, clean cooking remains underfunded in many parts of the world. To achieve universal access to modern cooking solutions by 2030, global investment is needed to make these technologies affordable and widely available.

Clean Cooking as a Basic Right

Access to clean cooking should be viewed as a basic right, similar to clean water and education. The time and money spent gathering or purchasing traditional fuels are resources that could be better used in ways that improve families' well-being and future prospects. Every hour spent collecting firewood and every dollar spent on costly fuel limits people’s potential and their ability to pursue fulfilling lives.

Woman using Greenway Stove, Karnataka

With clean cooking, we can reimagine a world where preparing a meal does not trap women and girls in endless cycles of labor and limited opportunity. Clean cooking provides a foundation for healthier, more empowered lives, and it has the potential to transform families and communities.