Greenway Grameen: Clean cooking
Year: 2011
Founders: Neha Juneja, Ankit Mathur
Funding: $2.57 million (Series A)
Investors: Acumen, CIIE, Asha Impact, USAID, Asian Development Bank, Millennium Alliance
Introduction
Greenway Grameen Infra Pvt. Ltd. is a social enterprise committed to transforming the cooking culture of rural India and the rest of the world with green, clean stove technologies. Its two flagship products—the Greenway Smart Stove and Jumbo Stove—are air-flow technology-based patented products that are conceived to make clean, smokeless, and efficient cooking with the traditional biomass fuel. This will allow rural homes to switch over to cleaner, healthier, and greener cooking without any requirement for modifying the traditional fuel inputs.
Tackling Agricultural Challenges
Over 70% of Indian homes rely on inefficient cooking with biomass fuels like wood, crop residues, and dung. It is also one of the major reasons for serious indoor air pollution with serious health impacts on women and children who spend much time in close proximity with cooking stoves. Further, inefficient fuel use is one of the reasons causing deforestation and land degradation. Greenway surmounts such challenges through a fuel-saving stove that reduces fuel consumption by up to 65% and smoke by 70%, improving indoor air quality, reducing environmental effects without modifying culinary traditions.
Key Offerings
- Patented Air-Flow Technology: Enhanced design enhances combustion to enable cleaner burns and lower smoke emissions by a significant percent.
- Greenway Smart Stove: Efficient, single-burner household cookstove. Saves fuel and smoke by a substantial margin, money and health.
- Greenway Jumbo Stove: Its larger capacity was designed for family or group cooking, with the same efficiency and emissions benefits but in quantity.
- Fuel Flexibility: The two stoves accept varying solid biomass fuels—wood, crop residues, and cow dung—the implication being customers can leave traditional cooking habits intact.
Real Impact
Greenway has been able to distribute more than 1.2 million clean cookstoves in India, Nepal, and Zambia, with direct impact on the lives of more than 10 million consumers. By exceptionally reducing fuel usage and smoke emission, Greenway stoves have helped reduce carbon footprints and enhance indoor air quality. Time gained by lessened cooking and fuel foraging load has particularly empowered rural women as they can allocate time to other productive pursuits. Greenway’s endeavor is a perfect example of how low-cost technological solutions can have significant health, environmental, and social impacts.
Success Story
In a rural village in India’s Madhya Pradesh, Sita Bai struggled with severe respiratory problems caused by smoke from her traditional stove. After receiving a Greenway Smart Stove through a local distribution initiative, her household noticed immediate improvements in air quality and fuel efficiency. Cooking became faster and cleaner, reducing smoke-related ailments for her and her children. The time saved from gathering less firewood also allowed Sita Bai to engage in small-scale tailoring work, supplementing her family income. Stories like hers highlight the transformative power of accessible clean cooking technology in rural communities.
Lessons for Agri-Startups
- User-Centric Design: Solutions that align with traditional practices while improving health and efficiency gain better acceptance.
- Scalable Distribution Models: Leveraging community networks enables widespread reach in rural areas.
- Health and Environment Dual Benefits: Addressing both improves the sustainability and social impact of innovations.
- Empowering Women: Technologies that reduce labor and health burdens contribute significantly to rural empowerment and economic development.
- Cross-Regional Adoption: Adaptable products can succeed across diverse geographies and cultures with minimal modification.
Stay Informed with Focus Agritech
Greenway Grameen is driving clean cooking adoption through innovative technology and community engagement, improving health and sustainability in rural households. Explore our Free Agritech Insights to learn from their impactful journey and stay updated with Focus Agritech—sign up for our newsletter to unlock expert tips on growing your farm smarter!Explore more such stories, insights, and opportunities in the agritech ecosystem.
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