00:00 This is Champa's special place. She has spent hours decorating it with glass art and painting
00:07 it with her favourite colours. It's her stove that she built herself. Besides being spacious
00:14 and beautiful, her stove is also environmentally friendly.
00:18 Champa made it from locally sourced lime and clay. And it doesn't need wood. She uses briquettes
00:25 that she made out of cow dung and sawdust.
00:33 I used to go to other villages with my husband on foot and used to build stoves. I used to
00:38 charge 200 rupees for just one stove. I used to make 10 stoves a day. I saved money and
00:45 bought a donkey cart and after I made 10,000 stoves, I earned enough money to buy a motorbike.
00:52 On the bike, my husband took me to far-flung areas. So far, I have made 40,000 stoves.
01:01 Nine years ago, the Heritage Foundation of Pakistan helped train Champa and other women
01:07 in the craft of stove making. A small change in their homes has not only improved women's
01:13 lives but it's also helping the environment.
01:18 The biggest impact the stoves had on the environment is zero use of wood. They use waste material
01:25 instead. We observed that cases of suffering from asthma and eye diseases due to smoke
01:30 have decreased. There were many cases of children getting burned because the stoves were on
01:35 the ground. Those cases have also been reduced.
01:42 Champa is giving back to the community. She and her husband are on their way to a nearby
01:47 village. She wants to train other women to build stoves themselves.
01:53 First, Champa explains why an elevated stove can help women. She tells them the stoves
02:00 due to their height can often survive flood waters and the use of lime can help to absorb
02:06 carbon emissions.
02:09 Champa shows the women how to take measurements. They outline the boundary and prepare the
02:15 lime mixture. The women then use the mixture to cement the clay bricks.
02:26 After about three hours of labour, the women have made their first stove.
02:34 I want to teach other women. I want to spread this skill. I want these stoves to be made
02:39 in most of Pakistan. This would help poor people a lot. If the monsoon hits, people
02:45 should not end up living on the streets.
02:52 And the new stoves work as a place to connect and build bonds among the villagers.
