Millions of women and girls in developing countries spend part of every day foraging for fuel to cook their families’ meals. This effort to chop, collect and carry biomass for miles can take hours, cutting into the time they need for other chores like fetching water, caring for children, working the fields and herding animals. Cooking with open fires is also a huge health risk. Smoke inhalation contributes to millions of deaths every year.
Gautam Yadama is the author of Fires, Fuel & the Fate of 3 Billion: The State of the Energy Impoverished, a new book that takes a close look at this global problem. A professor of social work at Washington University’s Brown School in St. Louis, his research focuses on the livelihoods of communities that are dependent on natural resources. He travels often to India to document the challenges and explore alternatives.
Read the full story from Heifer International: The Burning Question