Smoke emitted from open-fire cooking methods contains black carbon, which is the second biggest contributor of climate change. · Two million people die every year from indoor air pollution – that’s more than the annual death rates of AIDS and Malaria · A clean cookstove solution is the answer – but encouraging adoption through cultural relevance is half the battle. ·
The speaker in this talk, Ethan Kay, heads up the Emerging Markets division at a startup called BioLite where they make unique cookstoves that reduce harmful emissions by 95% while generating electricity to charge mobile phones and home lighting in off-grid areas. Drawing on cultural anthropology and user-centered design, the team develops and distributes the stove in a manner that is consistent with local cultural, religious, and culinary practices in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Link to talk:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3Zsj4Lfs_o
