2b) Haybox

    While access to electricity is one of the significant challenges that villagers face, energy needs of villages go well beyond electricity to other aspects such as cooking.

    In 2008, experimenting with solar thermal models for water heating and looking for a cheap insulator that would retain heat for a long time, we stumbled upon a traditional practice: using hay for cooking rice.  In this method, rice is brought to a boil and then transferred to a haybox where it cooks in its own heat without a flame.   Adapting this idea for Srikakulam villages, we designed a haybox made entirely of local material and also supporting livelihoods of the bamboo artisans.  Moreover, our design is cost-effective.  Priced at Rs. 70 in these villages, it is affordable by families dependent on daily wage work in agriculture, and who typically get paid Rs 40 -80 /day/person (on the days that they get work).  It is one of the few products that is made in the village and also sold in the village.

AID Srikakulam workers make hayboxes.             

    Village women spend two hours / week collecting firewood and about 45 minutes per meal just for cooking rice.  Since they use firewood and cannot reduce the flame, they add 4 cups water to 1 cup rice to prevent burning.   In the haybox method, since they remove the vessel from the flame when the rice comes to a boil, there is no risk of burning.  Thus they can use 2 cups water for 1 cup rice and bring the vessel to a boil in 10-15 minutes, saving 30 – 35 minutes time for every meal.  This saves considerably on firewood and greenhouse gases.  The energy saved translates to Rs. 50 / month for households who purchase firewood or use gas stoves.

Below: Khichdi, cooked in haybox

    Marketed as the “EZ cooker,” 140 hayboxes have been sold in the villages and only 3 people have returned the product.  We are following up with all customers and taking their feedback before contemplating how to expand the market.  All users are satisfied not only at the savings, but also because the food remains hot for 6-8 hours.  Thus family members coming home at different times all enjoy hot rice, a luxury they did not have earlier, since it is hard to reheat rice on firewood without burning.

    AID Delhi has also taken some models and is planning to take this idea forward locally.  In Mumbai, inspired by the Srikakulam haybox, a friend has experimented with an alternate model made of newspaper pulp rather than hay as the insulator.

Reference:  Wharton interview  |  Food Habits video