exploring the energy consumption environmental impacts and
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PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository
Graduate Studies Graduate Capstones
2018
Exploring the energy consumption environmental
impacts and economic consequences of
Qureshi, Nazish
Qureshi, N. (2018). Exploring the energy consumption environmental impacts and economic
consequences of (Unpublished report). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB.
doi:10.11575/PRISM/33095
http://hdl.handle.net/1880/108743
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UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY
“Exploring the energy consumption, environmental impacts and economic consequences of
implementing in-house solar cookers in Chitral.”
by
Nazish Qureshi
A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE
GRADUATE PROGRAM IN SUSTAINABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT
CALGARY, ALBERTA
AUGUST, 2018
© Nazish Qureshi 2018
ii
ABSTRACT
The ‘Theory of Himalayan Environmental Degradation’, as described by Ali & Benjaminsen
(2004), is concerning for many. Chitral is a beautiful remote valley in north-west Pakistan,
nestled in Hindu Raj, Hindu Kush and Karakoram-Himalayan mountain ranges. In the absence
of other fuel options, about 99% of Chitral’s population uses traditional firewood stoves for
cooking. To alleviate the consequent burdens of deforestation, pollution and health hazards, my
analysis explores the feasibility of implementing solar cookers in Chitral. I make an energy
comparison, study the environmental impacts and determine the economic viability of this
transition. I collected data for this project through a combination of primary and secondary
research methods. With limited research done on solar alternatives for my study area, I provide
an insight on whether the environmental and economic expenses of firewood consumption will
encourage the people of Chitral to use solar cookers—a technology foreign to their culture.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
APPROVAL PAGE ....................................................................................................................... i
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................ iii
LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ v
LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... v
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1
1.1 Research Proposition .......................................................................................................... 2
1.2 Background .......................................................................................................................... 2
1.3 Interdisciplinary Aspect of Study ...................................................................................... 5
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ................ 7
2.1 Geographic Background of Chitral ................................................................................... 7
2.2 Solar Cooker Technology ................................................................................................. 10 2.2.1 Principle of Solar Cooking ......................................................................................................... 10 2.2.2 Solar Cooker Designs................................................................................................................. 11
2.2.2.1 Box Type Solar Cooker .................................................................................................................... 11 2.2.2.2 Concentrating Type Solar Cooker .................................................................................................. 12 2.2.2.3 Parabolic Solar Cooker .................................................................................................................... 15 2.2.2.4 Scheffler Reflectors ........................................................................................................................... 16
2.2.3 Measuring the Performance of Solar Cookers ........................................................................... 17
2.3 Solar Cooking Projects Implemented in Other Regions................................................ 17 2.3.1 Case of India and Burkina Faso ................................................................................................. 18
2.3.1.1 Solar Cooking at the Brahma Kumaris Retreat, India ................................................................. 18 2.3.1.2 Solar Cooking in Zabre & Tiakane, Burkina Faso ........................................................................ 19
2.3.2 Solar Cooking at Vajra Foundation, Nepal ................................................................................ 21
2.4 Environmental Impacts of Firewood Use for Cooking .................................................. 22 2.4.1 Environmental Impact of Deforestation in Chitral ..................................................................... 22 2.4.2 GHG Emissions in Pakistan ....................................................................................................... 27
2.5 Health Impacts of Firewood Use for Cooking ................................................................ 29
2.6 Economic Conditions in Chitral ...................................................................................... 32
2.7 Energy Comparison of Firewood Stoves vs. Solar Cooking .......................................... 34
CHAPTER 3: METHODS ......................................................................................................... 38
3.1 Methods of Data Collection .............................................................................................. 38 3.1.1 Location Selection: How I Selected the Region of Chitral for My Study .................................. 38 3.1.2 Firewood Use in Chitral ............................................................................................................. 39
3.2 Energy Comparison of Firewood Stove vs. Solar Cooking ........................................... 40
3.3 Environmental Feasibility ................................................................................................ 40 3.3.1 Deforestation in Chitral .............................................................................................................. 40 3.3.2 GHG Emissions in Chitral ......................................................................................................... 42
3.4 Economic Feasibility of Implementing Solar Cookers in Chitral ................................. 43
3.5 Technical Feasibility ......................................................................................................... 44
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CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS TECHNIQUE ................................................................................ 45
4.1 Energy Comparison of Firewood Stove vs. Solar Cooking ........................................... 45
4.2 Environmental Impacts of Firewood Use........................................................................ 49 4.2.1 Deforestation .............................................................................................................................. 49 4.2.2 GHG Emissions ......................................................................................................................... 52
4.3 Economic Feasibility of Implementing Solar Cookers in Chitral ................................. 54 4.3.1 Firewood Cost to a Chitrali Household ...................................................................................... 54 4.3.2 Opportunity Cost Associated with Collecting Firewood ........................................................... 54
4.4 Technical Feasibility ......................................................................................................... 56
CHAPTER 5: RESULTS ........................................................................................................... 57
5.1 Energy Comparison of Firewood Stove vs. Solar Cooking ........................................... 57
5.2 Environmental Impacts of Using Firewood for Cooking .............................................. 58 5.2.1 GHG Emissions ......................................................................................................................... 58 5.2.2 Deforestation .............................................................................................................................. 59
5.3 Economic Feasibility of Implementing Solar Cookers in Chitral ................................. 63 5.3.1 Transition from Firewood to Solar Cooking .............................................................................. 63
5.4 Technical Feasibility ......................................................................................................... 64 5.4.1 Needs Assessment for Chitral .................................................................................................... 65
CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................... 67
6.1 Opportunity Cost Associated with Collecting Firewood ............................................... 67
6.2 Policy Lapse and Government Mismanagement ............................................................ 68
6.3 Cultural & Lifestyle Barriers to Entry ........................................................................... 72
CHAPTER 7: LIMITATIONS .................................................................................................. 75
CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................ 77
8.1 Energy Comparison .......................................................................................................... 77
8.2 Environmental Impacts of Firewood Use for Cooking .................................................. 77
8.3 Economic Feasibility of Implementing Solar Cookers .................................................. 78
CHAPTER 9: FUTURE RESEARCH ...................................................................................... 79
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................ 81
APPENDIX A .............................................................................................................................. 89
Report on Firewood in Chitral from PEDO ......................................................................... 89
APPENDIX B .............................................................................................................................. 94
Jaan Pakistan Product Listing ............................................................................................... 94
APPENDIX C .............................................................................................................................. 97
Go Sun Product Listing and Comparison ............................................................................. 97
APPENDIX D ............................................................................................................................ 100
One Earth Designs Product Listing ..................................................................................... 100
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Meals at the Brahma Kumaris Retreat...................................................................... 19 Table 2: Current and Future Emissions of Pakistan ............................................................... 28 Table 3: Human Health Hazards from Indoor Air Pollution ................................................. 31 Table 4: Trends in income per capita, 1991-2001 .................................................................... 33 Table 5: Cooking Regime Example ........................................................................................... 35 Table 6: Population Increase in Chitral ................................................................................... 49 Table 7: Population Growth vs. Deforestation in Chitral ....................................................... 51 Table 8: Common Oak Species in Chitral, Pakistan ............................................................... 59 Table 9: Cost Comparison: Firewood vs. Solar Stoves ........................................................... 63 Table 10: Technical Needs Assessment for Chitral ................................................................. 65
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Topography of District Chitral ................................................................................... 8 Figure 2: Solar Irradiation Map of Pakistan ............................................................................. 9 Figure 3: Solar Cooker Classifications ..................................................................................... 13 Figure 4: A Box Type Solar Cooker .......................................................................................... 14 Figure 5: Concentrating-Type Solar Cooker ........................................................................... 14 Figure 6: Parabolic Concentrating Solar Cooker Systems ..................................................... 16
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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
In this modern age, technology has revolutionized our lifestyle and quality of life. In the struggle
for achieving efficiency in every task we undertake, modern civilizations have pushed the limits
of technological breakthroughs and continue to do so. To minimize time, energy and cost, being
the essential drivers determining the efficiency of a system, the focus remains to accomplish
more with less. While the modern world has been successful in achieving this dream of an
efficient lifestyle, a big part of the developing world continues to live in darkness. Here the term
darkness is no figure of speech, but rather the literal description of the stark reality for many. In
the developing world where there are no switches to bring light, and the severe lack of biomass
energy sources (such as wood), makes it even harder to cook and heat in traditional ways. The
ongoing energy crisis in most of the developing countries has dire consequences, hindering the
fulfillment of the necessities of life. With such living conditions, finding means to cook food is
one of the pressing issues for many.
In rural Pakistan, most households rely on traditional means of cooking. In Pakistan’s north-west
province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), many remote locations have no other means of
meeting their energy requirements. There is a lack of electricity supply due to various reasons,
i.e. some regions are not connected to the grid, while others are connected but suffer from
frequent power outages. While natural gas is available to some regions, because of insufficient
supply to meet the demand, the natural gas pressure is usually very low to allow for cooking
meals. Within these regions, there are some remote locations that are not even connected to a
natural gas pipeline. One such region is the District of Chitral, located in the north of KPK, with
an area of 14,850 km2 and an estimated population of 447,362 per the recent census of 2017
2
(Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization, 2017). Chitral faces many problems in
meeting its energy needs, severely affecting the quality of life of its residents.
1.1 Research Proposition
Considering the challenges faced by the residents of Chitral, for fulfilling their cooking
requirements, in this study I explore the energy consumption, environmental impacts and
economic implications of implementing in-house solar cookers in Chitral.
1.2 Background
Cooking remains one of the major necessities of life, accounting for about 90% of the total 45%
energy consumption of the worldwide domestic sector (Regattieri, Piana, Bortolini, Gamberi, &
Ferrari, 2016). With the lack of modern means to source energy for cooking, most people in
developing regions of the world rely on firewood and charcoal for cooking, where these fuels are
used over the traditional three stone fire cook stove—i.e., a cooking pot stands on three stones,
bricks or metal pegs, and is heated by firewood or charcoal at the bottom (Regattieri, Piana,
Bortolini, Gamberi, & Ferrari, 2016). This method of cooking poses many unfavorable
outcomes. Besides being highly inefficient, as only 15% of the energy released from the fuel
enters the contents in the pot, this traditional method of cooking also leads to a severe
environmental degradation of the region. As such, many years of using wood and charcoal for
cooking leads to deforestation, since the dead wood available for use are consumed rapidly,
while the living trees are cut uncontrollably without being replaced by new trees (Regattieri,
Piana, Bortolini, Gamberi, & Ferrari, 2016). Additionally, the emissions from burning wood and
charcoal add to the greenhouse gas effect if trees are not replanted. These emissions also contain
particulate matter and other pollutants, which pose a risk to human health for the residents of the
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household being exposed to open fires. In fact, one estimate shows that approximately 1.5 to 3.1
million premature deaths in the world every year are caused from the use of firewood for
cooking indoors, with accidental fires and burns also adding to the health hazard (Regattieri,
Piana, Bortolini, Gamberi, & Ferrari, 2016).
Being one of the most isolated areas of Pakistan, the people of Chitral face problems with access
to electricity and fuel energy. As of today, most of the district is deprived of electricity or natural
gas or delivered oil for cooking and heating homes. Despite the efforts made by the Government
to connect the whole District with national power stations in nearby districts or develop local
power stations, “in large the District does not have proper electricity source that may also be
used for cooking purposes” (Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization, 2017). Besides
the electricity access problem in Chital, the region is not connected to any natural gas pipeline.
The main supplier of natural gas in the KPK province of Pakistan is the Sui Northern Gas
Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) (Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited, 2017). Although SNGPL
initiated a survey to select a site in Chitral for a possible transport route of liquefied petroleum
gas (LPG) to Chitral, the project has not started yet and will likely take time given the harsh
terrain of the region (Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization, 2017). On a small scale,
the residents of Chitral use LPG transported and stored in cylinders from nearby regions.
However, this is not a sustainable option, as the residents need to travel long distances to buy
these LPG cylinders, often paying marked up prices due to lack of supply (Pakhtunkhwa Energy
Development Organization, 2017). In conclusion, only 0.1% of the fuel for cooking comes from
oil and gas for the residents of Chitral, while the remaining needs are fulfilled by wood and
charcoal (Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization, 2017).
4
My research is useful for the new and promising solar industry of Pakistan and around the world.
Considering the conclusions of this report, if the need for solar solution is real and the economic
opportunity promising, then this finding can be used as a basis for a possible business case in
Pakistan. The best-case scenario for this issue is sourcing solar cookers manufactured locally in
Pakistan. Moreover, if the solar cooking industry takes off in Chitral, besides alleviating the
environmental and energy crisis, it may bring employment in the region and become a source of
further infrastructure development and a general increase in the standard of living for the region.
One of the main challenges of Chitral is its remote location, which has it isolated from the rest of
the country to an extent. A micro locally sourced solar energy could help bring economic
flourishment to the region and open more opportunities.
The research methods in this report include a combination of primary and secondary methods for
collecting data. Primary research includes collecting data by yourself or hiring a party to collect
data for you, while going directly to the source. The methods of primary research include
interviews, surveys, focus groups and personally visiting the source location (Hartford, 2018).
On the other hand, secondary research includes gathering information from already conducted
and published research. Secondary data can be collected through researching publications—such
as scholarly journal articles, magazines, trade journals, company reports from different industries
etc., (Hartford, 2018). After collecting the data, I applied quantitative and qualitative approaches
to analyze the data and formulate conclusions. In my quantitative approach, I carried out several
calculations to arrive at conclusions, whereas, in my qualitative approach I conducted interviews
to obtain an in depth understanding of some of the aspects.
5
1.3 Interdisciplinary Aspect of Study
My capstone project rests on three primary areas for conducting this explorative study of
installing solar cooking solutions in Chitral—energy, environment and economics.
The energy component is examined by exploring the energy comparison of firewood and solar
cooking technology. By figuring out how much energy is required to cook a standard meal in an
average Chitrali household, the two sources of energy are compared. This comparison allows for
comparing the fuel consumption patterns between the two methods of cooking, leading to
possible conclusions of a more efficient alternative of cooking.
In the second component, I explore the negative environmental impacts of using firewood for
cooking. Firewood use causes environmental degradation on many fronts, such as deforestation
of Chitral and nearby areas, greenhouse gas emissions adding to global warming and lethal
emissions at the firewood site which has detrimental health impacts. Additionally, deforestation
leads to various other environmental issues, the most significant of which is glacial melt leading
to an increase in floods, loss of arable land and human migration because of habitable places
destroyed. Therefore, I explore how a transition towards solar cooking can help alleviate these
issues.
The third component studied in my capstone project is the economic feasibility of implementing
this project in Chitral. Whether installing solar cooking options in Chitral is economically
feasible, the following aspects are considered: the upfront capital expenditure of purchasing the
solar cookers and operating costs of maintaining the cookers. I then make a case for economic
6
feasibility by comparing this finding with the cost of purchasing firewood for cooking.
Considering this comparison, I suggest the most realistic solution for Chitral when installing
solar cooking solutions to replace firewood.
7
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
This chapter reviews the current literature to understand the three dimensions of my research
study—i.e., the comparison of solar cooking with firewood stoves from an energy point of view,
impacts of using firewood on the environment and the economic feasibility of making this
transition. The literature review first explores the concept of solar cooking and the existing
technology available for implementation. The review then continues to explore the three specific
dimensions of my project by studying similar projects in other parts of the world that resemble
the case of Chitral.
2.1 Geographic Background of Chitral
District Chitral is in the extreme northwest region of Pakistan, with an elevation range of 1,063
to 6,628 m above the sea level (see Figure 1). It is surrounded by the glacial mountain ranges of
Hindu Raj to the south and Hindu Kush towards its north and west (Shehzad, Qamer, Abbas,
Bhatta, & Murthy, 2014). District Chitral is divided into two tehsils [sub administrative
divisions]: Tehsil Chitral and Tehsil Mastuj (Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization,
2017). Chitral’s climate is temperature, dominated by the winter weather, with westerly winds
bringing in the rain during the months of December through March (Shehzad, Qamer, Abbas,
Bhatta, & Murthy, 2014). The mean annual temperature for Chitral is 16°C, together with an
average minimum of 8°C and average maximum of 24°C. Chitral’s summers are hot, with the
hottest month being that of July and the absolute highest temperature reaching 47°C; while the
winters are cold with the month of January being the coldest and the absolute minimum
temperature reaching -3°C. Chitral receives an average rainfall of 451 mm annually and a heavy
snowfall in winter (Shehzad, Qamer, Abbas, Bhatta, & Murthy, 2014).
8
Figure 1: Topography of District Chitral
(Shehzad, Qamer, Abbas, Bhatta, & Murthy, 2014)
There are four seasons in Chitral. The Winter season usually includes the months of December,
January and February; Spring spans across the months of March, April and May; Summer
through June, July, August and September; and Fall spans across the months of October and
November (Hanif, Ali, Nizami, & Akmal, 2016). The general weather of Chitral is temperate
with an average mean temperature of 16 °C in the north and 15 °C in South Chitral. The weather
is primarily “dominated by winter weather pattern with rains caused by western disturbance that
occur during the period of December – March…The South Chitral receives an annual total
rainfall of 457.5 mm and North Chitral 325.2 mm, with heavy snow fall over the mountains
during winters” (Hanif, Ali, Nizami, & Akmal, 2016, p. 6). Figure 2 shows the direct solar
9
irradiation across Pakistan, wherein Chitral has enough solar irradiation for potential solar
energy projects.
Figure 2: Solar Irradiation Map of Pakistan
(Global Solar Atlas, 2016)
Chitral
10
2.2 Solar Cooker Technology
Solar cookers have been around for centuries, with the first concept originating as early as the
1600s. The very first scientific experiment using a solar cooker was undertaken by a German
physicist Tschirnhausen (1651-1708), who used a large lens for focusing sun rays to boil water in
a clay pot. Many experiments followed this in subsequent centuries, using different techniques to
experiment with the solar cooking concept (Regattieri, Piana, Bortolini, Gamberi, & Ferrari,
2016). Even though the concept has been around for so long, the interest in solar cooking became
important only after the Second World War due to fuel shortages (Muthusivagami, Velraj, &
Sethumadhavan, 2010). In today’s context, with the enormous amount of challenges faced due to
climate change, environmental consciousness is a top priority for all nations. Therefore,
exploring solar solutions for meeting energy needs are most relevant today. Among its various
applications, solar cooking is becoming a viable alternative in most developing countries today.
The reason for the growing popularity of solar cooking is because of its many advantages—such
as no recurring costs over the lifetime of the cooker, reduced effort and time spent to cook and
high nutritional value. However, despite these advantages, the technology is not as prevalent
because of the resistance to acceptance, the intermittent nature of sun light, limited space in
urban settings and potentially significant upfront costs of investment (Muthusivagami, Velraj, &
Sethumadhavan, 2010).
2.2.1 Principle of Solar Cooking
The principle of solar cooking is quite simple. A solar cooker uses the solar energy for cooking
food; wherein, the solar cooker system collects solar radiation, converts it into heat and then
retains the heat to transmit it to the food through the cooking pot (Harmim, Merzouk, Boukar, &
11
Amar, 2014).
2.2.2 Solar Cooker Designs
Solar cookers are traditionally grouped into two categories:
1. Solar cookers with storage
2. Solar cookers without storage
The solar cookers without storage are subsequently classified into two groups, 1.a) direct solar
cookers and 1.b) indirect solar cookers. The classification of direct vs. indirect solar cooker
depends on the heat transfer mechanism to the cooking pot, where the direct solar cookers use
solar radiation directly in the cooking process (Muthusivagami, Velraj, & Sethumadhavan,
2010), while an indirect cooker uses a heat transfer fluid to transfer heat from a collector to the
cooking pot (Yettou, Azoui, Gama, & Panwar, 2014). See Figure 3 for a detailed classification of
solar cookers.
There are two main kinds of direct solar cookers commercially available, a box type solar cooker
and a concentrating type solar cooker (Muthusivagami, Velraj, & Sethumadhavan, 2010).
2.2.2.1 Box Type Solar Cooker
A box type solar cooker contains an insulated box with a transparent glass cover, where the box
is equipped with a reflective surface that reflects sunlight into the box (Figure 4). The reflective
surface is usually created with the use of booster mirrors (Yettou, Azoui, Gama, & Panwar,
2014). More often, the inside of the box is painted black so that the sunlight absorption may be
increased. There are various sizes of the box type cooker, accommodating one to four cooking
pots inside it (Yettou, Azoui, Gama, & Panwar, 2014). In a box type cooker, a temperature of
12
100 degrees C can be achieved, that makes it possible for the food to cook, primarily through
boiling (Yettou, Azoui, Gama, & Panwar, 2014).
2.2.2.2 Concentrating Type Solar Cooker
Concentrating type solar cookers are designed to achieve high temperatures suitable for cooking
by using a reflecting surface—such as multifaceted mirrors, Fresnel lens and parabolic or
spherical collectors (Figure 5). These cookers usually include a one or two axis tracking system,
which facilitates following the course of the sun (Muthusivagami, Velraj, & Sethumadhavan,
2010). These concentrating cookers are designed with a high degree of reflectivity for the
reflector to achieve maximum optical reflection and minimize heat losses in the receiver
(Muthusivagami, Velraj, & Sethumadhavan, 2010).
While there are different kinds of concentrating-type cookers, the most prevalent design is the
point focusing paraboloid (or simply a parabolic) solar cooker (Muthusivagami, Velraj, &
Sethumadhavan, 2010).
13
Figure 3: Solar Cooker Classifications
(Muthusivagami, Velraj, & Sethumadhavan, 2010)
14
Figure 4: A Box Type Solar Cooker
(Yettou, Azoui, Gama, & Panwar, 2014)
Figure 5: Concentrating-Type Solar Cooker
(Muthusivagami, Velraj, & Sethumadhavan, 2010).
15
2.2.2.3 Parabolic Solar Cooker
A parabolic solar cooker utilizes a simple design of a parabolic shaped reflector that focuses the
sunlight to a central point where the cooking pot is located (Figure 6). This system is mounted on
a stand to support the cooker and the parabolic reflector (Muthusivagami, Velraj, &
Sethumadhavan, 2010). The parabolic solar cooker is comparatively costlier than other solar
cookers designs (especially compared to the box-type cooker), however, given its high rate of
heat transfer, it has attracted great attention around the world ecuona, ogueira, entas,
ar a-del-Carmen, & Legrand, 2013). First conceptualized in the 1950s, the parabolic
concentrating cooker continues to undergo major design and performance improvements
ecuona, ogueira, entas, ar a-del-Carmen, & Legrand, 2013). A particularly attractive
feature of this cooker is the fact that it can be constructed using locally available materials,
which makes this technology more accessible in many parts of the world ecuona, ogueira,
entas, ar a-del-Carmen, & Legrand, 2013). This advantage of building parabolic solar
cookers through local sourced materials make them very popular in developing countries. The
parabolic solar cooker generally uses a conventional cooking utensil with a blackened surface for
increased heat absorption; where the utensil is in direct contact with the atmosphere. Resultantly,
this leads to much higher infrared radiation and thermal heat losses when compared to a box-type
cooker that takes advantage of the greenhouse effect to retain the heat ecuona, ogueira,
entas, ar a-del-Carmen, & Legrand, 2013). However, the higher losses from these parabolic
solar cookers is compensated by the larger sun collecting aperture ecuona, ogueira, entas,
ar a-del-Carmen, & Legrand, 2013).
16
Figure 6: Parabolic Concentrating Solar Cooker Systems
ecuona, ogueira, entas, ar a-del-Carmen, & Legrand, 2013)
Within the category of parabolic solar cookers, there are some portable designs available as well,
providing a cheaper option for low income communities and ease of using it anywhere. Usual
applications for portable solar cookers include using them on roof tops, outdoors and balconies
ecuona, ogueira, entas, ar a-del-Carmen, & Legrand, 2013).
2.2.2.4 Scheffler Reflectors
Most of the domestic parabolic concentrating solar cookers require a manual tracking of the
whole system every 15 to 20 minutes. To improve on this challenge, a more innovative
17
technology—the Scheffler reflectors—was developed (Otte, 2014). These reflectors do not
require manual tracking, as Wolfgang Scheffler created a “flexible parabolic reflector which
rotates around an axis parallel to the earth-axis” (Otte, 2014, p. 52). Additionally, these reflectors
have the focal point located outside of the reflector, unlike parabolic and box-type solar cookers,
which makes it possible to have the cooking done inside the house, while the reflector is located
outside the house (Otte, 2014).
2.2.3 Measuring the Performance of Solar Cookers
While there are many ways of measuring the performance of a solar cooker, I only include the
commonly used methods in my review. Essentially, the performance of solar cookers is
determined by conducting comprehensive “analysis of the optical and thermal characteristics of
the cooker materials and the cooker design, or by [conducting] experimental performance testing
under different operating conditions” (Yettou, Azoui, Gama, & Panwar, 2014, p. 290). The
established methods for measuring performance include the ullick method, Funk’s
international standard (cooking power curve) and conducting energy/exergy analysis of the
system (Yettou, Azoui, Gama, & Panwar, 2014). These methods analyze various performance
parameters that have been standardized around the world—such as the standard cooking power
Ps), first figure of merit F1), second figure of merit F2), energy η) and exergy efficiency ψ)
and so on (Yettou, Azoui, Gama, & Panwar, 2014).
2.3 Solar Cooking Projects Implemented in Other Regions
To understand the three dimensions of my capstone study, in this section I explore the current
literature of similar solar cooking projects around the world. A point considered is making sure
18
that the region being studied is like Chitral—i.e., it is remote and there is no connectivity to the
electricity grid or there are frequent power outages.
2.3.1 Case of India and Burkina Faso
In my literature review of solar cookers used in remote locations, I found an article comparing
two examples: a case of India vs. Burkina Faso, where solar cooking was implemented to replace
other traditional ways of cooking (Otte, 2014). The following passage reviews each case, noting
the strengths and limitations of each project.
2.3.1.1 Solar Cooking at the Brahma Kumaris Retreat, India
“Brahma Kumaris is a worldwide spiritual movement dedicated to personal transformation and
world renewal” (Brahma Kumaris, 2017, para. 1). Originally founded in the mountains of
Rajasthan, India, this non-Government Organization (NGO) now spans across various locations
around the world, offering spiritual and meditative retreats to its students (Brahma Kumaris,
2017).
The Brahma Kumaris were the first group to adopt the use of solar steam cooking in India (Otte,
2014). Using a Scheffler reflector system with steam capability, the NGO primarily used the sun
for cooking its meals at its remote retreat centres in India, with a diesel backup when sun was not
available (Otte, 2014). The meals served at the retreats are summarized in Table 1.
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Table 1: Meals at the Brahma Kumaris Retreat
Source: (Otte, 2014)
2.3.1.2 Solar Cooking in Zabre & Tiakane, Burkina Faso
(Otte, 2014) reviews two cases in Burkina Faso—a solar bakery at Zabre and shea nut butter
production at Tiakane.
The solar bakery in Zabre was opened in 2008 and later two Scheffler reflectors were installed in
there. This bakery served to be the primary source of bread in the area, therefore it had a high
demand for orders, averaging 1000 bread loaf per day. Because the customers arrived early in the
morning (around 8 am) to collect bread, the staff at the bakery had to prepare the bread during
the night time to be ready in the morning (Otte, 2014). Their night shifts lasted from 11 pm to 8
am in the morning. Because of these night shifts, the solar bakery was not feasible due to the lack
of sun during those core work hours. Moreover, the solar bakery could not meet the capacity of
1000 bread loafs per day, as the solar bakery alone could only prepare 50 bread loaves per day.
Also, on cloudy and rainy days, the bakery took longer to bake bread, reducing the amount of
bread loaves that could be prepared (Otte, 2014). Due to this weather dependency, the quality of
20
the bread was also affected by it. Consequently, the bakers had to switch to electric stoves, which
proved to be expensive as the cost of electricity was quite high. The solar bakery was economical
and the bakers preferred it due to low cost, however, since it could not meet the demand of the
area, it was not feasible (Otte, 2014).
The other case study from Burkina Faso discussed the shea butter production facility at a local
women’s organization in Tiakane. Around 100 women were producing shea butter at this
facility. At the time of the study (Otte, 2014), two Scheffler reflectors were installed at this
facility and previously a solar kitchen had been put in place which was no longer in use. Prior to
the installation of the solar kitchen, the women were using firewood stoves to prepare the shea
butter. After switching to a solar oven, the women were not able to scale down the production of
shea butter, as such the solar oven produced way too much butter which they were not able to
sell in local markets.
In its commentary on how moving to solar cooking can be seen in the context of cultural
considerations, the Otte article concludes that the solar cooking system worked better for Brahma
Kumaris for various reasons, and not for the communities in Burkina Faso.
There were practical reasons in the case of Burkina Faso that limited the use of solar cookers.
Scalability being one of the main reasons, and lack of storage and/or backup power being the
second major reason when solar irradiation was unavailable.
21
Brahma Kumaris teach a more holistic approach towards living at their spiritual retreats,
including the emphasis on adopting a sustainable lifestyle. Therefore, the use of a solar cooking
solution was easier to transmit to the community members, as it fit with their bigger ideology of
living sustainably. Given the residents of these communities are already on a path of self-
transformation and becoming mindful of their lifestyles, transitioning to a solar cooking method
was therefore, more easily adopted. This raises the importance of education and awareness on a
wider scale when implementing sustainable solutions in such remote regions, where people are
traditionally set in their customs and lifestyles.
2.3.2 Solar Cooking at Vajra Foundation, Nepal
The Vajra Foundation is a non-profit organization in Nepal, founded in 1997 by a Dutch
biologist, Maarten Olthof. The foundation has staff in Netherlands and Nepal, working on
various projects for Nepal in the field of education, health care and ecology (VAJRA
Foundation, n.d.). The projects range from schools, public washrooms, health posts and a solar
kiln around seven refugee camps along the border with Bhutan (VAJRA Foundation, n.d.).
Additionally, the foundation has been working on an ecological hotel and conference center in
the Himalayas—the Vajra Eco Resort (VAJRA Foundation, n.d.).
In addition to these projects, the Vajra Foundation introduced the use of solar ovens in several
villages across Nepal to replace the traditional method of biomass cooking. The foundation also
held training sessions for the local villagers to teach them how to use solar ovens for cooking.
However, the interest of the villagers dropped after a while, as they preferred cooking inside
their houses (VAJRA Foundation, n.d.).
22
In its review of the success of solar applications for cooking, Maarten Olthof concluded that
solar cooking works in communities where there is a severe shortage of fuel. When there is a dire
need for an economical solution, people are more likely to adopt solar cooking (VAJRA
Foundation, n.d.). For instance, in its experience with the Bhutanese refugee camps, Vajra was
given the approval from the Nepalese government and the UNHCR to hold a workshop to build
solar ovens. This was the largest solar oven project in the world to date, as the refugee camp had
about 100,000 Bhutanese refugees staying there. As there was severe shortage of fuel in these
refugee camps, with no access to forests or other biomass means, solar ovens worked in this case
(VAJRA Foundation, n.d.).
2.4 Environmental Impacts of Firewood Use for Cooking
In this section I review the existing literature to understand how firewood used for cooking,
causes environmental impacts.
2.4.1 Environmental Impact of Deforestation in Chitral
The deforestation issue in the Himalayas has been a topic of concern over the last few years. It is
evident from the literature, environmental studies and the local observation of residents, that the
forests of Chitral have become scarce over the years. In my capstone research, I explore whether
this deforestation is entirely caused by fuelwood consumption in the region. Before drawing a
conclusion for Chitral, I looked at existing studies of deforestation for Northern Pakistan.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Pakistan has the
second highest deforestation rate in the world (Ali & Benjaminsen, 2004). While the UN
recommends the ratio of forest cover to land mass for Pakistan to be at least 12%, per various
23
estimates this ratio is currently in the range of 2% - 5% (The World Economic Forum, 2018). If
the current consumption trends and deforestation rate continue, IUCN predicts the forests of
Pakistan to disappear within 10 – 15 years (Ali & Benjaminsen, 2004).
One research team, (Ali & Benjaminsen, 2004), explores the major cause behind deforestation in
the Basho Valley, Skardu in northern Pakistan. Skardu is located about 574 kilometers east of
Chitral, within the province of Gilgit-Baltistan where this study area is situated (Google Maps,
2018). According to (Ali & Benjaminsen, 2004), the ‘Theory of Himalayan Environmental
Degradation’ has been prevalent in the scholarly circle for some time. This theory holds the
opinion that the Himalayan region has gone through significant environmental degradation over
the years, as a direct result of the burdens of population sprawl (Ali & Benjaminsen, 2004). The
main aspect of this environmental degradation is deforestation—therefore, in their study, Ali &
Benjaminsen reviewed local data on “fuelwood consumption and timber extraction from Basho
Valley in northern Pakistan to investigate whether such general perceptions regarding forest
depletion can be supported by an empirical case study” (Ali & Benjaminsen, p. 312). The results
of this investigation concluded that human harvesting and use of fuelwood has not been the
primary driver of deforestation in Basho Valley. Contrary to the popular belief that deforestation
is mainly caused by consumption of residents, the authors concluded that 30% of the
deforestation in the last three decades was primarily caused by “commercial harvesting and
mismanagement by the government” (Ali & Benjaminsen, p. 312). As such, “a large amount of
dead fallen wood and green trees was sold by the government or was taken out by a ‘timber
mafia’ that emerged during the main period of commercial harvesting in the 1970s and 80s” (Ali
& Benjaminsen, p. 312).
24
Further exploring the issue of government mismanagement and the nature of ‘timber mafia’, Ali
& Benjaminsen explain the main lapses in the system that allow for deforestation to continue.
Although the natural forests in Basho valley legally fall under the category of protected forests—
where harvesting for commercial purposes is not permissible, the authors found evidence of
commercial harvesting over the years to cater to government needs (Ali & Benjaminsen).
Besides government harvesting trees from these forests, they had also issues permits to private
parties to harvest trees from these protected forests (Ali & Benjaminsen). Despite the legal status
of these forests, the records at the Divisional Forest Office Baltistan on timber harvests from
Basho indicate a total of 2002 trees, approximately 24,885 m3, harvested in the period of 1974
to; wherein this estimate does not include the harvesting done without a permit, the evidence of
which also exists (Ali & Benjaminsen). This harvesting done without a permit is locally referred
to as the ‘timber mafia’—i.e., “an informal cooperation of contractors and some local people
who earn cash from illegal wood sales supported by some government officials” (Ali &
Benjaminsen, 2004, p. 316). As early as the 1970s, this mafia collected dead and fallen trees
from the Basho forest for free or by paying a small price, and sold them at a much higher price in
the market in Skardu, where the wood prices are highest in the country (Ali & Benjaminsen). By
1992, the forests were rid of all the dead and fallen trees, at which point the local people started
cutting standing trees for their fuel needs. Over the years, the great amount of illegal harvesting
by the mafia and the occasional use by local people significantly depleted the forests of the
Basho valley in Skardu (Ali & Benjaminsen).
25
Similar to the area of Skardu, Chitral also faces a serious problem of deforestation. Various
studies have addressed this issue, as it presents a grave environmental concern for the region.
Shehzad, Qamer, Abbas, Bhatta, & Murthy (2014) assessed the gravity of the issue of
deforestation in Chitral over two decades by studying the satellite images of the forest cover of
Chitral, taken from 1992, 2000 and 2009 respectively. In this investigation, they concluded that
in 2009, “the forest cover was 10.3% of the land area of Chitral (60,000 ha). The deforestation
rate increased from 0.14% per annum [for the years spanning] 1992–2000 to 0.54% per annum
[for the years spanning] 2000–2009 with 3,759 ha forest lost over the 17 years [studied]”
(Shehzad, Qamer, Abbas, Bhatta, & Murthy, 2014, p. 1192). Furthermore, the team developed a
model to predict future trends based on the study of the spatial drivers of deforestation for
Chitral. This model projected “a further loss of 23% of existing forest in Chitral…by 2030, and
degradation [i.e., from dense forest to sparse forest] of 8%, if deforestation continues at the
present rate” (Shehzad, Qamer, Abbas, Bhatta, & Murthy, 2014, p. 1192).
A 2011 news article in Dawn (Drosh, 2011) discusses the issue of deforestation in Chitral; where
ongoing concerns over mismanagement of forests by officials has led the local people of Chitral
raise their voices on many occasions (Daily Times, 2016). The Dawn news article explains the
nature of this forestry mismanagement—where the local officials are not harvesting the forests
properly, i.e., instead of harvesting “dry and deceased trees to provide a congenial environment
for green and newly-grown plants in the forests… healthy green trees are being cut by timber
contractors in collaboration with local officials of the forest department” (Drosh, 2011, para. 1 &
3). oreover, the article suggests that “local members of the timber mafia have smuggled their
26
own timber by mixing it with the stock of the Forest Development Corporation (FDC) after
allegedly giving kickbacks to the officials concerned” (Drosh, 2011, para. 4).
Overall, on a global scale, it is estimated that “if only 5% of the population living in the
developing world relies on solar power instead of biomass for cooking, 16.8 million tons of
firewood can be saved per year, corresponding to 56 million trees. Consequently, the
conservation of this large number of trees in our forests can avoid the direct emission of 21.6
million tons of CO2 per year, and another 16.8 million tons of indirect emissions” (CEDRO,
2016, p. 5).
27
2.4.2 GHG Emissions in Pakistan
From my literature review, Pakistan’s total GHG emissions are reported to be in the range of 347
million tons of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2e) in 2011 (Abas, Kalair, Khan, & Kalair, 2017) or 343
MtCO2e in 2012 (USAID, 2016). There is a slight difference between different sources but for
most part the emissions appear to be in this range, with the last reported year being 2011 or 2012
in most studies. (Abas, Kalair, Khan, & Kalair, 2017) report the breakdown of these GHG
emissions for the year of 2011 by sector: energy 50.6%, agriculture 38.7%, industry 5.8%, land
use, land-use change and forestry 2.9% and waste 1.9%. Whereas, the second study carried out
by USAID available at the website of Climate Links (2016) reports this breakdown for the year
of 2012 by sector as: energy 46%, agriculture 41%, land use change and forestry 6%, industrial
processes 5% and waste 2%. Pakistan’s 2012 GHG emissions make up 0.72% of world’s total
GHG emissions in 2012 of 47,599 MtCO2e (USAID, 2016).
GHG emissions are projected to increase in Pakistan in the coming years due to construction of
several coal plants scheduled to come online after 2018, as seen in Table 2 (Abas, Kalair, Khan,
& Kalair, 2017).
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Table 2: Current and Future Emissions of Pakistan
Source: (Abas, Kalair, Khan, & Kalair, 2017)
29
2.5 Health Impacts of Firewood Use for Cooking
A significant direct negative impact of using wood and charcoal for cooking is the emissions that
are released from burning the wood or charcoal. Most traditional stoves produce large quantities
of emissions, such as particulate matter (PM) and other gaseous pollutants, when burning solid
fuels (Ekouevl & Tuntivate, 2012). When a household is cooking inside, using biomass as its
fuel then these emissions made result in indoor air pollution (IAP) (Abeliotis & Pakula, 2013).
These emissions are also made because most of these traditional stoves are inefficient in
combusting the fuels properly, which increases the amount of pollutants released. These
pollutants include a mixture of particulate matter, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide,
formaldehyde, benzene and other hydrocarbons (Ekouevl & Tuntivate, 2012).
The emissions made from these traditional stoves pose a serious health concern for everyone
exposed to this environment, as well as adding to the greenhouse gas effect when emissions
escape into the atmosphere (Ekouevl & Tuntivate, 2012). The main pollutant from biomass
burning is smoke, which contains a mixture of dangerous pollutants that can be severely
hazardous for human health. Consequently, IAP is reported to cause more than a million deaths
around the world annually. These deaths are caused by a combination of diseases—particulate
matter (with diameter of 10 mm) is inhalable for anyone exposed and results in acute respiratory
infections (ARI) and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) (Abeliotis & Pakula,
2013). While the type of disease contracted by the person exposed to such IAP depends on the
properties of the fuel used (e.g., type, size and moisture), Table 3 on page 18 summarizes the
common human health hazards caused by IAP, together with the type of pollutant causing it
(Abeliotis & Pakula, 2013).
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In South Asia, the IAP is in high levels, where most households rely on biomass as fuel, burnt
over traditional stoves that have inefficient burning. Wherein, this exposure to IAP is a causing
alarm for increase in mortality rates in women and infants, and premature births (Junaid, et al.,
2018). The main reasons for this increased exposure to IAP is lack of protective measures against
these emissions, inadequate policies and poor or non-existing emission standards; consequently,
most household residents in these settings are vulnerable to IAP without realizing the negative
consequences of it (Junaid, et al., 2018).
Junaid, et al. (2018) reports in the year 2004, approximate 80% of the population in the South
Asian region was exposed to some sort of IAP from biomass burning inside homes. This rate was
only predicted to increase if government intervention in the form of responsible policy measures
and emission standards are not implemented. Moreover, another indicator of measuring the
negative health impacts of IAP is the disability-adjusted life years (DALY) defined as one lost
year of a healthy life because of any risk factor such as diseases, smoking and IAP. For South
Asia, approximately 6.5 million deaths and 123 DALYs/1000 capita are a direct result of IAP
exposure in the general population (Junaid, et al., 2018). After hypertension and malnutrition,
IAP is the top 3rd
risk attributed to DALY in the South Asian region. When reviewing the effects
of IAP in specific South Asian countries, it is the “top 3rd
risk factor in India, Bangladesh, and
Afghanistan, 4th
in Nepal, 7th
in Pakistan and Bhutan out of total 10 leading risk factors in terms
of DALYs for the period 1990 – 2013” (Junaid, et al., 2018, p. 656).
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Table 3: Human Health Hazards from Indoor Air Pollution
Pollutant Description Health Hazard
Particulate Matter, 6-7 μm in size and is
breathable by humans
- When inhaled, respiratory and
cardiovascular systems affected.
- Both Children and adults are affected.
- Evidence suggests adverse effects of both
short term and long term exposure.
Carbon Monoxide (CO)
- Hypoxia occurs when CO attached to
hemoglobin, reducing the capacity of blood
to carry oxygen in the body
- High level exposure i.e., several hundred mg
per m3 causes unconsciousness and death
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) - CO2 is a asphyxiant
- Causes respiratory irritation
Nitrogen Dioxide (N2O)
- Respiratory problems such as:
Bronchoconstriction
Increased bronchial reactivity
Airway inflammation
- Decreased immune defence, which can lead
to increased susceptibility to respiratory
infection
- Women and young children most commonly
affected, reported affects include:
Acute infections of lower respiratory
tract e.g., pneumonia among children
below age of 5 years
COPD such as chronic bronchitis and
emphysema
Lung cancer among adults
IAP from biomass fuels (primarily wood) is classified as a probable human carcinogen from group
2A.
Source: (Abeliotis & Pakula, 2013)
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In order to combat the issue of IAP to diminish the exposure to hazardous pollutants in the
population relying on inefficient biomass stoves, researchers have been studying whether a
cleaner stove addresses these hazards. Ekouevl & Tuntivate (2012) reports that a clean stove,
using liquefied petroleum gas or kerosene as oppose to biomass for fuel, significantly reduces
IAP. The research reports that if an average household adopts clean stove as its primary stove,
while using a traditional biomass stove as its secondary stove, the IAP will decrease by more
than 70%. However, if the household continues using the traditional stove as its primary stove,
while using the clean stove as its secondary stove for smaller tasks and durations, then the IAP
will not change much from a scenario where the household is using traditional biomass stove as
both a primary and a secondary stove (Ekouevl & Tuntivate, 2012). Additionally, the ventilation
system of the house plays an important role in alleviating IAP. Here, the clean stove refers to an
improved stove that using less fuel and produces less emissions by improving 1) heat transfer
from the fuel to the pot and 2) combustion efficiency to reduce harmful emissions (Ekouevl &
Tuntivate, 2012).
2.6 Economic Conditions in Chitral
The economic conditions in Chitral are in general poorer than the rest of Pakistan due to its
remoteness and lack of connectivity with the rest of the country. This region is poor in basic
infrastructure and road connectivity; it does not have natural gas pipeline connection and suffers
from frequent power outages (Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization, 2017). This is
usually the case in mountain communities due to their restricted access to urban centers,
consequently limiting livelihood and employment opportunities available to the residents.
33
As a consequence of this geographical restriction, the mountainous populations of the Hindu
Kush and Himalayan region of North Pakistan are poorer than the national average—where the
majority of population lives at or below the subsistence level, with the rural communities in this
region specifically fairing on the lower side In the Hindu Kush Himalayan region of Northern
Pakistan, the main resource of sustenance is subsistence agriculture, livestock and horticulture
(Ahmad, Shah, Ahmad, Partap, & Ahmad, 2017). For land farming, these families mostly “grow
cereal crops like maize, wheat, or rice for family consumption…[and]…rear cattle to produce
milk and meat to meet the family consumption needs, and some surplus to generate income to
meet other family needs” (ICIMOD, 2007, p. 25). With the ongoing environmental degradation,
the reliance on farm lands and natural forests for sustenance is becoming harder for these
mountain communities, aggravating the poverty situation (ICIMOD, 2007).
Historically, the per capita income in Chitral has trailed behind the national average, Table 4.
Table 4: Trends in income per capita, 1991-2001
Source: (Narayan-Parker & Glinskaya, 2007)
34
Due to a lack of recent studies done on the economic conditions of the Chitral region, the most
recent estimate of income per capita in Chitral that I could find was from 2013; according to
(Azam, n.d.), the per capita income for Chitral in 2013 was $447 USD. Whereas, another journal
article reports the per capita income for Chitral in 2012 was around PKR 24,660 or
approximately $200 USD (with current exchange rate), with more than 32% of population living
below the poverty line (Ahmad, Shah, Ahmad, Partap, & Ahmad, 2017). In contrast, the recent
economic survey by the Government of Pakistan reports the national per capita income of
Pakistan at $1,531 USD in 2016 and $1,629 USD in 2017 (Pakistan Ministry of Finance, 2017).
The disparity in numbers makes it challenging to comment on the economic conditions of
Chitral. However, the huge gap of Chitral’s per capita income versus the national average
indicates the seriousness of poverty for the region of Chitral.
2.7 Energy Comparison of Firewood Stoves vs. Solar Cooking
There are various standards and tests that have been perfected over the years used for comparing
different modes of cooking. When comparing different technologies, there are various
performance indicators that are tested for choosing the best option. These performance indicators
can include metrics such as the amount of fuel consumed by the technology and potential energy
savings (Visser, 2005), the indoor air pollution created by the technology, the time to cook and
other associated costs with maintenance (Tajammul, 2018). This review provides existing
literature on conducting various tests to compare cooking technologies for energy savings.
The comparison of performance between competing methods of cooking rests on understanding
the fundamental process of cooking. Cooking can be described as a process where heat from a
35
fuel source is transferred to the food in the pot for it to be prepared (Visser, 2005). The food is
prepared in this time as the heat produced triggers various physical and chemical reactions in the
food, changing it from a raw form to an edible form. In the cooking process, a cooking regime
“is the sequence of different power levels and time periods the stove must be able to deliver to
cook the food according to the recipe” (Visser, 2005, p. 17). The article further explains this
process through a simple example of boiling potatoes, where the cooking regime looks as
demonstrated in Table 5.
Table 5: Cooking Regime Example
Source: (Visser, 2005, p. 17)
In Table 5, there are two settings of power level—high power level and low power level,
whereas the high-power level is required to have high efficiency. Therefore, in this example to
bring these potatoes to boil, the stove used must have 3 qualities— a high-power output level, a
low-power output level and a high-efficiency at the high-power output level (Visser, 2005). The
high-power output level or Pmax, together with the efficiency at Pmax, called Emax, will determine
the time it would take to bring the potatoes to boil. Consequently, the stoves with a higher Pmax
and Emax will cook faster. On the other hand, the job of the low-power level or Pmin is to maintain
36
the temperature in the pot by compensating for any heat losses of the pot—in this case Pmin
allows for potatoes to simmer for 20 mins. Typically, Pmin determines the fuel that will be
consumed in the simmering phase (Visser, 2005).
In addition to the power output levels and the efficiency of the cook stove, other factors also
contribute to the overall performance of a cook stove. An obvious factor is the skill level of the
user—how familiar is the user with the technology at question (Arora, Das, Jain, & Kishore,
2014). Another important factor is the ‘burn cycle’, which is the “specific pattern of fluctuation
in power levels during a cooking process” (Arora, Das, Jain, & Kishore, 2014, p. 82). For
instance, the fluctuations during Pmax or Pmin of the above example of boiling potatoes.
Now that the basic terminology of the cooking process is established, I further review the test
protocols in practice around the world to compare the performance of different cook stoves. The
most prevalent test is the Water Boiling Test (WBT)—which is an internationally adopted test
protocol aimed at standardizing the way cook stoves are tested globally (Arora, Das, Jain, &
Kishore, 2014). Within the WBT, there are several test protocols that have been established
across the globe, these are summarized into three categories by (Raman, Ram, & Murali, 2014):
Category-I suggests a two-phase water boiling test, with a cold-start high-power phase and a
simmering phase. Category-II suggests a three-phase water boiling test, with a cold-start high-
power phase, hot-start high power phase, and a simmering phase. Lastly, category-III suggests a
water boiling test with a fixed quantity of fuel wood and the high-power phase with repetitive
cycles (Raman, Ram, & Murali, 2014). The two-phase WBT (Category-I) was adopted during
1985-2009—where the temperature of water during the simmering phase and the duration of the
test varied among the different protocols. The three-phase WBT (Category-II) was later proposed
37
in 2009.
In the past it was challenging to compare different cook stoves manufactured under different test
protocols around the world. This is due to the differences in these test protocols, making it
extremely difficult to compare any two protocols. For instance, it was previously observed, “if
the burn cycles vary due to the methodology adopted in different protocols the performance of
the cookstove might also change with the change in combustion conditions” (Raman, Ram, &
Murali, 2014, p. 82). To address this issue, these various protocols were later standardized under
a benchmark drafted by the International Workshop Agreement, led by International
Organization for Standardization (ISO). Therefore, under this benchmark different technologies
made under different protocols are now comparable (Raman, Ram, & Murali, 2014).
38
CHAPTER 3: METHODS
The primary focus of my study is to evaluate the feasibility of implementing a concentrating type
parabolic solar cooker in District Chitral in Pakistan, that currently uses firewood for cooking
food. In order to conclude whether such a solution is feasible, I explore the energy, environment
and economical aspects of these two alternatives. In this section, I review the methods
undertaken to complete this feasibility study.
3.1 Methods of Data Collection
I have collected data via two methods. Most of the data was collected through secondary
research methods, where these sources include various online material—University of Calgary
library resources, online journal articles, books, publications etc. I also conducted two interviews
to delve further into some aspects of my thesis question. These methods of data collection are
explained further under the sub heading of each area investigated.
3.1.1 Location Selection: How I Selected the Region of Chitral for My Study
Following my interest of exploring sustainable energy solutions for remote off-grid communities,
I drafted the following requirements when choosing the site for this study:
1) A list of potential cities in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province of Pakistan where:
a) Solar insolation is abundant
b) Cities that are not connected to the main electricity grid and/or there are no other means
of energy available (e.g., there are no natural gas pipelines, or electricity grid, or
petrol/diesel for independent small scale generators etc.)
c) There is a significant reliance on firewood for cooking meals
39
I had earlier been introduced to Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization (PEDO)
through my father. PEDO is an autonomous body of the Government of the Province of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), responsible for the development of the energy sector of KPK. It has and
continues to work on various energy projects including hydro, solar and wind energy
(Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2015). After drafting this questionare, I sent it to my
contact in PEDO, who replied back with a list of potential cities in KPK that met the criteria in
regards to point A. After exchanging some emails, PEDO recommended the city of Chitral to be
a suitable choice for my study. Therefore, I finalized Chitral to be the area of study and requested
further information on the firewood use in Chitral from PEDO.
3.1.2 Firewood Use in Chitral
My research topic relied heavily on collecting information on the firewood use in Chitral. As I
could not travel to Chitral to collect data myself, I requested information electrnoically from
PEDO. My initial request for information included the following:
1) For the chosen study are, the following information for is required:
a) The location of the study area
b) The size of the study area:
(1) Number of houses in the city & persons per house
c) Any basic metric of energy demand per day per household for cooking:
(1) The primary concern is with the energy supply for cooking therefore,
an understanding of the number of meals they need to cook every day. The energy
demand in a metric unit is preferable if possible, e.g., how many Joules of energy
40
is consumed every day for cooking by each household (if this information is
available)
Upon this request, PEDO prepared a special report for my query, Report on Firewood in Chitral
(see Appendix A). This report provided key information for my research and served as the
primary basis for wood consumption patterns for the city of Chitral. My correspondence with
PEDO was done via emails.
3.2 Energy Comparison of Firewood Stove vs. Solar Cooking
I explored the energy required for cooking by exploring two scenarios: the conventional method
of using firewood vs. introducing a solar cooker. In this section, this comparison is made as
follows:
1. Investigate the amount of energy (joules) required to cook a 2L bowl of soup
a. Determine how much wood is required to do so and the time it takes to cook
i. Consider heat losses
b. Determine how long it takes for the solar cooker to cook the same amount of soup
i. Consider heat losses
3.3 Environmental Feasibility
3.3.1 Deforestation in Chitral
I conducted secondary research methods for obtaining information on environmental degradation
and deforestation in Chitral because of excessive firewood use. I used University of Calgary
Library as my main resource, which provided access to multiple online databases of scholarly
journal articles.
41
My primary research question was exploring the relation between firewood use by the local
population of Chitral and the increase in deforestation rate. By establishing a positive correlation
between population increase historically versus the decline in forest cover in Chitral, I believed
that a conclusion can be made in regards to population sprawl being the primary cause of
deforestation in Chitral. To verify this hypothesis, I needed information on deforestation trends
in Chitral and historical population evolution.
The information on population of Chitral was obtained through the website of Pakistan Bureau of
Statistics, as it had the results of the recent census of 2017 for Pakistan (Pakistan Bureau of
Statistics, 2017). It was challenging to obtain detailed deforestation data on Chitral as there are
limited number of studies done on the region. I used three journal articles as my main resources
for this area that explored the issue of deforestation in Chitral.
During my research on factors leading to the deforestation in Chitral, I came across several
recent news articles pointing towards possible government mismanagement of the forests of
Chitral. This stirred a new set of questions that needed to be investigated to understand the
reasons for the significant deforestation in Chitral over the years. This led me to a local non-
profit in Chitral—Chitral Environment and Heritage Protection Society, who is an expert on this
issue. I conducted a Skype interview with CHEPS to understand the role of government in the
protection of the forests of Chitral over the years. Prior to the interview, I sent them the
following set of questions, which formed the basis of our conversation:
42
1. Tell me a little about yourself and your organization.
2. What is your opinion on the deforestation issue in Chitral?
3. How has deforestation in Chitral impacted the daily lives of residents in Chitral?
4. Is there merit to the claim that deforestation in Chitral isn’t entirely because of increased
use of firewood for cooking due to population increase, rather there has been poor
management of forests by the responsible official department(s)?
5. Considering the answer to the question above, has there been any reforms in the relevant
official department s) to address this issue and dealing with “timber mafia”?
6. How has your organization been involved in addressing deforestation and forestry
mismanagement; is there a constructive dialogue with the government?
7. While the mismanagement of forests is addressed, do you see a need for alternative
solutions to cooking in Chitral to replace firewood use?
3.3.2 GHG Emissions in Chitral
I wanted to estimate the amount of CO2 emissions generated in Chitral because of firewood use.
To calculate this number, I used to the following sources.
The data on firewood consumption in Chitral was obtained from PEDO (see Appendix A). The
estimation of CO2 emissions resulting from burning firewood was provided by my supervisor,
Edwin Nowicki. The population of Chitral, per the recent census of 2017, was sourced from the
website of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, 2017).
43
3.4 Economic Feasibility of Implementing Solar Cookers in Chitral
To conclude whether implementing solar cookers in Chitral are feasible, I investigate the
following:
1. Cost of installing solar cookers in Chitral
a. Capital cost of installing solar cookers (CAPEX)
b. Operating costs incurred after installation (OPEX)
2. Cost of using firewood per household
a. Cost of purchasing firewood per month
b. Opportunity cost arising out of collecting wood per month—where an opportunity
cost arises when a person could have received the benefit for choosing an
alternative, between two or more mutually exclusive events. As such, choosing
any one of the alternatives results in giving up the benefit that could have been
received by choosing the other event (Investopedia, 2017). By estimating the
time spent by a member of a family for collecting wood that could be used for
earning a wage, an estimate of the opportunity cost can be determined. This
would potentially lead to savings for the household.
The economic data on solar cookers was obtained through Jaan Pakistan—a startup in Pakistan
that aims towards providing clean cooking solutions (Jaan Pakistan, 2016a). I conducted an in-
person interview with the CEO of Jaan Pakistan, Khizr Tajammul, during his visit to Calgary.
The cost of firewood use was sourced through the report provided by PEDO (Pakhtunkhwa
Energy Development Organization, 2017).
44
3.5 Technical Feasibility
In this section, I explore all possible options for solar cookers to determine the most suitable
application for District Chitral. In this section, I also consider the possibility of the solar cooker
being developed locally through local sourced materials.
There are several technologies available on the market that utilize solar power for cooking
purposes. While this paper explored the use of concentrating type parabolic solar cooker, other
technologies have been analyzed in this section to determine technical feasibility. The
information on technical requirements of solar cookers suitable for Chitral were obtained in the
interview with Jaan Pakistan.
45
CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS TECHNIQUE
4.1 Energy Comparison of Firewood Stove vs. Solar Cooking
To understand the fuel needs of the residents of Chitral given their culinary requirements, we
assume a standard 2L bowl of soup. By calculating how much energy is required to cook one
bowl of soup, I estimate the overall fuel that is needed. While considering energy losses because
of system inefficiencies, I calculate the amount of energy that enters this bowl of soup in two
kinds of conventional firewood stoves. Thereby, this leads me to verifying the quantity of wood
that would be required by the residents of Chital to fulfill their culinary needs. Moreover, this
standard can be extrapolated for other food options if necessary.
Assuming a standard 2L bowl of soup - although the soup may contain other contents
such as vegetables and meat stock, I am assuming the heat capacity of water as the main
determinant when calculating heat transfer from firewood to the soup
To estimate the amount of energy required to cook a 2L bowl of soup, I assume the
following equation:
46
where Qw is the heat energy required to boil water, M is the mass of water, Cw is the heat
capacity of water and ∆T is the change in temperature from initial temperature Ti to final
temperature Tf
∆T = Ti - Tf
where,
assuming initial temperature of water to be 10 C at room temperature
assuming final temperature of water to be 100 C when it reaches boiling
point
Density of water is given by:
Therefore, Qw
= 0.75366 MJ
47
However, in order to cook a standard 2L bowl of soup, it is necessary not only to bring
the soup to a boil, but also to simmer the soup for a significant time (perhaps an hour or
even longer). It is reasonable that on the order of 20 times more energy is needed than to
simply bring the soup to a boil (Nowicki, 2018). Thus, I conclude that
Now that the energy needed has been determined, I continue to calculate the amount of fuel
source required to deliver this energy to the bowl of soup.
In this analysis, I consider two types of conventional firewood stoves in light of efficiency
differences.
1. An open 3 stone firewood stove where the cooking pot stands on three stones, bricks or
metal pegs and it is heated by firing wood or charcoal; this method is highly inefficient as
there is a significant heat losses to the environment. This traditional firewood stove
results in only about 15% heat energy transferred from the burning of the firewood to the
pot (Flavin & Aeck, 2005).
2. A firewood enclosed wood stove made from steel can also serves as a space heater. The
efficiency of this stove for cooking purposes is roughly 25% as the remaining heat energy
is lost to the environment (Nowicki, 2018).
48
From the Report on Firewood in Chitral (Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization,
2017), the residents of Chitral consume 40 kg of Oakwood in 3 days, this averages to 13 kg
firewood used every day.
The moisture content in this firewood is approximately 20% and has an energy content of about
15 MJ of energy per kg (Nowicki, 2018).
Therefore, the total energy available in the firewood without considering any heat losses equals
49
4.2 Environmental Impacts of Firewood Use
4.2.1 Deforestation
To establish whether a positive correlation exists between the deforestation trends in Chitral and
the increase in population over the years, I decided to plot the two metrics against each other.
While the information from the 2017 census of Pakistan was available, I was not able to collect
the historical evolution of population for previous years. The only other record available was the
population count from 1998 (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, 2017).
As population in Chitral has increased by 40% in 2017 compared to the last available data of
1998, this gives a cumulated annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.80%. Since there is no data
available between the years of 1998 and 2017, I estimated the series through the CAGR of 1.8%
(see Table 6).
Table 6: Population Increase in Chitral
Tehsil Sr.No Admin Area Population
2017
Population
1998
CAGR 2017 vs.
1998
Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa
30,523,371 17,743,645 2.90% 72%
Chitral
District
447,362 318,689 1.80% 40%
1 Chitral Tehsil 278,122 184,874 2.17% 50%
2 Mastuj Tehsil 169,240 133,815 1.24% 26%
Source: (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, 2017)
50
Similarly, there is limited data available on deforestation in Chitral. As reported by (Shehzad et
al., 2014), the deforestation rate in Chitral increased from 0.14% per year for 1992-2000 to
0.54% per year for 2000-2009. By assuming the population growth rate to be constant for the
time periods as reported by Shehzad et al., I interpolated the population for the years where data
was not available (Table 7).
51
Table 7: Population Growth vs. Deforestation in Chitral
Year Population1 Deforestation Rate
2 Comments
1998 318689 0.14% Source 1 & 2
1999 324429 0.14% Population interpolated
2000 330272 0.14% Population interpolated
2001 336220 0.54% Population interpolated
2002 342276 0.54% Population interpolated
2003 348440 0.54% Population interpolated
2004 354716 0.54% Population interpolated
2005 361104 0.54% Population interpolated
2006 367608 0.54% Population interpolated
2007 374229 0.54% Population interpolated
2008 380969 0.54% Population interpolated
2009 387830 0.54% Population interpolated
2010 394815 - Population interpolated
2011 401926 - Population interpolated
2012 409165 - Population interpolated
2013 416534 - Population interpolated
2014 424036 - Population interpolated
2015 431673 - Population interpolated
2016 439447 - Population interpolated
2017 447362 - Source 1
Sources: 1 (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, 2017) & 2 (Shehzad et al., 2014)
1 After calculating the CAGR of +1.8% with the population data of 1998 and 2017 that is
available, Table 6 indicates the interpolated population for the years in between.
2 Given the deforestation rates (Shehzad et al, 2014) for 1992-2000 at 0.14% and 2000-2009 at
0.54%, Table 6 indicates the deforestation rate as approximated to be constant.
52
The population of Chitral in 2017 was 447,362 persons, as noted in Table 5. An average Chitrali
household includes five people (Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization, 2017), and
99% of the households in Chitral rely on firewood for fuel (Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development
Organization, 2017). Therefore, the number of households using firewood for fuel is estimated to
be:
4.2.2 GHG Emissions
As noted above, there are approximately 88,578 households in Chitral that rely on firewood for
fuel (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, 2017). On average, 40 kg firewood lasts for 3 days in a
Chitrali household (Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization, 2017). This information is
used to calculate CO2 emissions arising from firewood use.
53
Assuming the firewood used is dry with ~10% moisture content.
Burning 1 kg of dry wood (~10% moisture content) gives heat of 15 MJ and burning dry wood
produces 110 kg/GJ of CO2 emissions (Nowicki, 2018).
54
4.3 Economic Feasibility of Implementing Solar Cookers in Chitral
4.3.1 Firewood Cost to a Chitrali Household
Cost of Oak wood, which is the common type of wood used for fuel in Chitral, was Pakistani
Rupees (PKR) 600 per 40 kg in 2017 (Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization, 2017)
or PKR 15 per kg.
From above, the monthly consumption of firewood in a Chitrali household is 400 kg.
1 USD = 128.45 PKR on July 20, 2018 (Bloomberg, 2018); this gives a yearly cost of firewood
per household in Chitral to about $560.5 USD.
4.3.2 Opportunity Cost Associated with Collecting Firewood
According to Jaan Pakistan (Tajammul, 2018), the local people in Chitral spend 12 hours per
week on average to gather firewood. This time spent collecting firewood is useful time that can
be spent to earn a wage by the member(s) of the household. To understand the opportunity cost
in this scenario, I assume what would be the income if the individual can earn a minimum wage
for unskilled work. The recent federal budget of Pakistan increased the minimum wage for
unskilled workers to PKR 15,000 per month (Paycheck.pk, 2018). To calculate an hourly wage
for unskilled workers, I assumed an 8-hour work day and a 5-day work week:
55
As mentioned by Jaan Pakistan, a household usually spends 12 hours per week collecting
firewood. I was not able to verify how many individuals from each household engage in this
activity, whether children are involved in this laborious work and how many households from
the overall population of Chitral still rely on this method of collecting firewood. Therefore, I
assumed the following.
1. One adult person from each household spends 12 hours per week to collect firewood.
2. The opportunity cost is calculated for one household, without applying it to all Chitral as
it is not possible to verify the proportion of households that collect firewood through this
method vs. buying it from market.
1 USD = 128.45 PKR on July 20, 2018 (Bloomberg, 2018); this gives a yearly opportunity cost
of collecting firewood per household in Chitral to about $ 421.5 USD.
56
4.4 Technical Feasibility
I researched suppliers of solar cookers in Pakistan. Based on my research, Jaan Pakistan is the
most relevant supplier of clean cookers in Pakistan. I interviewed with the CEO of the company,
Khizr Tajammul, to understand the specific needs of Chitral. Based on this I created a priority
check list for Chitral, suggesting the technical requirements that need to be met by the
technology deployed.
57
CHAPTER 5: RESULTS
5.1 Energy Comparison of Firewood Stove vs. Solar Cooking
As discussed in Chapter 4, about 13 kg per day of firewood is currently used by Chitrali
households. Assuming an energy content of 15 MJ per kg of wood, the complete combustion of
13.3 kg of Chitrali firewood produces approximately 200 MJ of heat. As follows, I have
calculated the heat energy available per day, that can be transferred to cooking pots:
1. Cooking energy from 13.3kg of wood for the open 3 stone firewood stove:
where I have assumed the cooking heat transfer efficiency of the 3-stone firewood stove
is 15% (Flavin & Aeck, 2005). In this case, a typical family in Chitral has access to 30MJ
of energy for cooking purposes when burning 13 kg of firewood. As a 2L bowl of soup
requires about 15 MJ of energy to be cooked, the estimate of 13kg of firewood per day
per household is quite reasonable.
2. Cooking energy from 13.3kg of wood for the enclosed steel stove:
where I have assumed the cooking heat transfer efficiency of the enclosed steel stove is
25% (Nowicki, 2018). In this scenario if a Chitrali household is using this stove, it has
access to 50 MJ of energy for cooking purposes. Following the same logic as above,
58
since approximately 15 MJ is required for cooking a 2L bowl of soup, once again the
estimate of 13kg of firewood per day per household is quite reasonable.
If we consider 2 or 3 bowls of 2L soup made at different times in the day around scheduled meal
times, the estimation suggests the household burning of 13 kg firewood every day is reasonable.
5.2 Environmental Impacts of Using Firewood for Cooking
5.2.1 GHG Emissions
Based on the analysis carried out in earlier section, there are 660 kg of CO2 emissions per
household in Chitral. Considering the population of Chitral and the number of households that
rely on firewood, the overall CO2 emissions in Chitral in a year approximate 701.5 kilotonne.
Therefore, with a switch to solar stoves, there will be an offset of approximately 701.5 kilotonne
of CO2 emissions. On average, a typical car produces 4.6 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions in a
year (Unites States Environmental Protection Agency, 2018).
Therefore, offsetting 701.5 kilotonne of CO2 emissions from Chitral is approximately equivalent
to removing emissions made from 152,508 cars on the road for one year.
59
5.2.2 Deforestation
After plotting population increase and deforestation rates against each other, there appeared to be
a positive trend between the two indicators. As such, the deforestation increased between the
periods of 1992 – 2009, together with the growth in population in Chitral between 1998 – 2017.
With the evidence of deforestation happening in Chitral, this points to a need for an alternative
method of cooking. Based on the 400-kg firewood consumption per household and a total of
88,578 households relying on firewood for fuel in Chitral, this results to a total of 425 kilotonne
of firewood consumed in Chitral per year.
As Oak is the common tree harvested for firewood in Chitral (Pakhtunkhwa Energy
Development Organization, 2017), I look further into the species of Oak trees in Chitral to
understand the forest cover that can be protected after replacing firewood consumption with solar
stoves. There are 5 different species of Oak trees in Chitral, Pakistan (see Table 8) (Sheikh,
1993).
Table 8: Common Oak Species in Chitral, Pakistan
Scientific Name Common Name Height Diameter
Density
[Given in
specific gravity]
Quercus Baloot Griff. Bunj, Holy Oak 1 to 12 m 0.5 to 0.6 m 0.94
Quercus Glauca
Thurb. (Fagaceao) Banni, Barin Oak 20 m 75 cm n/a
Quercus Incana
Roxb. (Fagaceae) Rein, White Oak 18 to 24 m 0.8 to 1 m 0.97
Quercus
Semicarpifolia
(Fagaceae)
Banjar, Brown Oak 25 to 30 m 1 m n/a
Quercus Dilatata
Royle (Fagaceae) Barungi 24 to 30 m 0.7 to 1.5 m 0.95
60
Source: (Sheikh, 1993)
As the density is not available for Quercus Glauca Thurb. (Fagaceao) and Quercus
Semicarpifolia (Fagaceae), I excluded them from further analysis. As 425 kilotonne of Oak wood
is used on a yearly basis, I calculate how many equivalent trees of each of the three species can
be recovered if this wood consumption is replaced with another fuel source.
1. Quercus Baloot Griff.; Bunj, Holy Oak
Height: assuming average height of 6 m
Diameter: assuming average diameter of 0.55 m
Radius: 0.275 m
Specific gravity: 0.94
= 317,462 trees
Therefore, if all of 425 kilotonnes of firewood is sourced from Bunj/Holy Oak tree, then that
61
equated to 317,462 trees felled in 1 year.
2. Quercus Incana Roxb. (Fagaceae); Rein, White Oak
Height: assuming average height of 21 m
Diameter: assuming average diameter of 0.9 m
Radius: 0.45 m
Specific gravity: 0.97
= 32,826 trees
Therefore, if all of 425 kilotonnes of firewood is sourced from Rein/White Oak tree, then that
equated to 32,826 trees felled in 1 year.
3. Quercus Dilatata Royle (Fagaceae); Barungi
Height: assuming average height of 27 m
Diameter: assuming average diameter of 1.1 m
Radius: 0.55 m
Specific gravity: 0.95
= 17,451 trees
62
Therefore, if all of 425 kilotonnes of firewood is sourced from Barungi Oak tree, then that
equated to 17,451 trees felled in 1 year.
Although the population increase logically hints towards an increased use of fuelwood leading to
significant increase in deforestation, my further research indicated that this may not have been
the only cause. As I further researched the issue of deforestation in Chitral, as I stumbled upon
several news articles raising concerns of government’s mismanagement of the forests of Chitral.
To further explore this concern, I interviewed a local non-profit organization in Chital that works
specifically towards protecting the environment of Chitral. CHEPS—Chitral Heritage and
Environment Protection Society, is a non-government organization that has been set up for 13
years, with the interest of protecting the heritage and environment of Chitral. This organization is
primarily run through volunteers, where it focuses on raising awareness, involving the youth
through collaborating with local schools and universities to engage in meaningful activities to
address environmental issues. The organization runs several campaigns through-out the year,
such as plantations, recycling and other environmental initiatives with the local youth (Dost,
2018).
CHEPS has a mission of promoting sustainable development to improve the social and economic
standard of living in Chitral. CHEPS aims to accomplish these goals by encouraging community
participation and strengthening participatory development. At its core, CHEPS is dedicated to
safeguarding the environment of Chitral, in line with the rich cultural heritage of Chitral that is
heavily embedded in nature (Chitral Heritage and Environment Protection Society, n.d.).
63
CHEPS raised many concerns regarding the deforestation issue in Chitral. During my interview
with the chairman of CHEPS Mr. Rehmat Ali, he voiced his concerns over the government
mismanagement over the years that has led to the current severity of the loss of forest cover in
Chitral, which are further elaborated in the Discussion section of this paper.
5.3 Economic Feasibility of Implementing Solar Cookers in Chitral
5.3.1 Transition from Firewood to Solar Cooking
Jaan Pakistan currently has two models of solar stoves in their inventory available for purchase.
The first product, the Concave Stove, is available for purchase at $120 USD. This product has a
useful life of at least 3 to 4 years and can be more if handled carefully (Tajammul, 2018). The
second option is the Saber Stove (Evacuated Tube Technology), available for purchase at $220
USD. This product has a useful life of 4 to 5 years, with parts replaceable at low costs in case of
damage, see Table 9 (Tajammul, 2018). As previously mentioned, the yearly cost of purchasing
firewood per household in Chitral is about $560.5 USD. Whereas, the opportunity cost of
collecting firewood is $421.5 USD.
Table 9: Cost Comparison: Firewood vs. Solar Stoves
Firewood Cost Cost of Solar Stoves
Annual cost of purchasing
firewood per household
$560.5 USD Concave
Stove
$120 USD Useful life ~3 years
Annual opportunity cost per
household
$421.5 USD Saber Stover $220 USD Useful life ~5 years
64
Source: (Qureshi, 2018)
Therefore, when comparing the cost of firewood with solar options available through Jaan
Pakistan, there appears to be an economic advantage for switching to solar stoves. Due to the
lack of data, I could not verify if a certain household always purchases firewood through the
market by paying the market price which results in annual cost of $560.5 USD, or if it spends
time (away from earning a wage) collecting firewood which ends up in an opportunity cost of
$421.5 USD per year or if it adopts a combination of the two methods. The combination of the
two methods would make a logical sense if the household cannot fulfill all its needs through
gathering firewood, and therefore, goes to the market to purchase whatever requirement could
not be met. For a simpler analysis, I assume that a household meets its firewood need by one of
the two options, as it is not possible for me to calculate the third scenario.
In either of the two scenarios, the annual cost associated with obtaining firewood is a lot higher
than the cost of both solar stoves. In fact, considering the useful life of 3 to 5 years—which is a
conservative estimate of useful life (Tajammul, 2018), the savings become more significant as
the cost of purchasing the solar stove is recovered within the first year, provided the household
abandons using firewood.
5.4 Technical Feasibility
There are various types of solar stoves available in the market today. Considering the unique
market of Chitral, I explore the specific needs of Chitral when picking the right type of solar
stove.
65
5.4.1 Needs Assessment for Chitral
During my interview with Khizr Tajammul of Jaan Pakistan, I explored the main concerns faced
by the people of Chitral when implementing solar solutions. Jaan Pakistan is a social startup in
Pakistan that focuses on “researching and manufacturing affordable energy solutions for low-
income communities across Pakistan” (Jaan Pakistan, 2016, para. 1). It was founded in 2014 and
has 3 products available for sustainable cooking—2 solar stove models and 1 efficient biomass
stove (see Appendix B for product listing). Besides Jaan Pakistan, there are several other
companies that provide solar stoves around the world (Jaan Pakistan, 2016a). As there are
various solar cooking options available on market globally, I created a needs assessment
checklist for Chitral (Table 10). Mr. Tajammul commented on each aspect and its corresponding
requirement in Chitral to conclude the best solution for Chitral.
Table 10: Technical Needs Assessment for Chitral
Technical Aspect Needs Identified for Chitral
Cost High: should be affordable; should offset firewood cost
Ease of construction Low: currently able to import from China
Portability High: should allow for cooking food inside the house or in
shade
Capacity 4-5 people per household
Culinary versatility
High: Pakistani cuisine very diverse, need to accommodate
for frying, grilling and offer high and low temperature
settings
Level of maintenance required Low: consumers have low technical expertise and
knowledge
Speed of reaching high temperature High: should offer similar capability as firewood cooking
Cooking time Moderate
Performance in low intermittent light Moderate to High: need a solution for the Monsoon season
Level of attention to track the sun Preferably low
66
Source: (Tajammul, 2018)
In addition to the needs identified, Mr. Tajammul commented on the success of the products
available at Jaan Pakistan (Appendix B). Jaan Pakistan ran a pilot project of its solar stoves—the
concave parabola and evacuated tube, but unfortunately these solar products were not very
successful in Pakistan. This is because these products were not readily accepted by the masses.
Both solar stoves require fair amount of training before its use—the concave disc needs frequent
supervision to track the direction of sunlight (Tajammul, 2018). Additionally, the consumer
needs training in understanding the concentration of the sunlight at focal point, the temperatures
reached, the cooking times and culinary versatility. Similarly, the evacuated tube is a solar oven,
therefore, all the dishes need to be replicated to a baking style to be cooked on this product
(Tajammul, 2018).
Besides Jaan Pakistan, there are other relevant companies around the world that specialise in
solar cooking products. Go Sun is currently the market leader of solar stoves based out of the
Unites States (GoSun, 2018a). Although it has a large inventory of products, it is the market
leader in making the best evacuated tube technology (Tajammul, 2018). Appendix C provides a
detailed comparison of all the products available through Go Sun. Another relevant company
worthy of mention is One Earth Designs, a United States based company making several solar
cookers see Appendix D for company’s product listing). One Earth Designs also operates a non-
profit that works on bringing their technology to the developing world (One Earth Designs,
2018). According to Mr. Tajammul (2018), One Earth Designs is the best manufacturer of
concentrating type concave parabolas.
67
CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION
6.1 Opportunity Cost Associated with Collecting Firewood
The opportunity cost of collecting firewood is difficult to calculate in this paper. This is because
of the lack of data from my study area. In order to effectively calculate the opportunity cost, I
needed to know how many people in a household go out to collect firewood and how often.
Secondly, what is the skill level of these individuals, if they know any trade so that if they are
employed what hourly wage can they earn for that trade. If these individuals are skilled in an
earnable trade, then the opportunity cost will be determined by the earnings that can be earned
for this trade. Moreover, will the earning increase with the increase in experience of the trade?
For instance, if a woman in a Chitrali household sews clothes, given the hourly wage of her skill,
the number of hours she dedicates for sewing clothes will translate to a certain income, which
will be the lost income when she spends certain number of hours collecting firewood. In other
words, the hours she spends collecting firewood is an opportunity cost for earning an income for
sewing clothes for those number of hours. Additionally, it can be argued that this opportunity
cost has a potential to increase with the increase in her skill level or increase in the demand of
her skill in her community. This is because if more people want to hire her for sewing their
clothes, she will naturally increase her wages over time to be in line with the demand of her
talent.
In calculating the opportunity cost of collecting firewood in Chitral, I observed the most
conservative scenario. Firstly, I assumed that only one individual of the household is collecting
firewood. Secondly, I assumed the average number of hours spent collecting firewood based on
68
the input from Jaan Pakistan—this was an estimate calculated by Jaan Pakistan for a different
project that they had conducted in the region. Ideally, a more accurate estimate would have been
if I had conducted a survey of the study area myself for the purpose of my capstone project.
Thirdly, for the earnable wage per hour, I researched the wage for unskilled labor in Pakistan.
This is the minimum wage in Pakistan for the labor force that do not have any skills for any
trade. Therefore, this is a very conservative estimation and has a potential of being a lot higher.
Another significant drawback in my estimation of opportunity cost is the assumption that
children are not involved in the collection of firewood. In reality, it is very hard to calculate the
opportunity cost in terms of dollar value for children involved in any kind of labor. Because, in
this case we have to assume the dollar cost of time spent away from school and what economic
opportunities will that result in had the child attended school. Furthermore, since the economic
benefit of education is received much later after the student graduates, we need to incorporate the
time value of money in such calculations as well.
In most studies of biomass use for cooking in the developing world, the criticism of the division
of labor between genders is problematic, as many of these societies do not necessarily associate
the laborious work undertaken by women to earn an income (Standing, 2002). As many of the
tasks carried out by women and girls do not qualify for an earnable wage in these societies, it
becomes hard to put a dollar value to the labor, in context of the realities of each society.
6.2 Policy Lapse and Government Mismanagement
To alleviate the issue of deforestation in Chitral, CHEPS comes up with various initiatives to
recover the forests of Chitral, these include involving the youth of the region to organize various
69
volunteering assignments such as planting trees across the region and organizing awareness
campaigns for environmental protection and stopping unnecessary cutting of trees (Ali R. ,
2018).
In my interview with the chairman of CHEPS, Rehmat Ali, he mentioned that CHEPS has
collected a great amount of data on all the illegal deforestation that has happened in Chitral.
CHEPS shared this data with high ranking government officials and media to inspire a corrective
action. Once shared with the media, there was a corrective action towards those involved in
illegal deforestation. However, CHEPS believes there is no sustained action that addresses this
issue for good and as such, after some time the practice goes back to business-as-usual (Ali R. ,
2018).
When inquired how deforestation has affected the local people of Chitral, Mr. Ali responded that
deforestation has negatively impacted the entire way of living for many indigenous Chitrali
communities. Deforestation has caused an increase in flooding in the region because of an
increase in the rate of glacial melt, as the loss in forest cover has exposed many glaciers to the
sun. This unprecedented flooding has destroyed several villages in Chitral in the last few years
(Ali R. , 2018). A lot of fertile land has been destroyed because of flooding, as well as many
villages. For instance, the valley of Ayun in Chitral has been destroyed because of floods;
similarly, 80% of the area of Bumburate has been washed away by unprecedented flooding in the
region. These were beautiful places of Chitral that the locals took pride in, providing a great
amount of natural beauty that no longer exist because of human negligence of the environment
70
and dislocating the residents who lost their houses. “When we disturb the nature, the nature
disturbs us”, concluded the Chairman (Ali R. , 2018).
Mr. Ali continued to mention that in the rest of the world there is legislation on how to protect
the trees, as opposed to cutting them. In Pakistan, however, it is the other way around. The lack
of awareness is such that people, with the approval of low ranking government officials who are
responsible for giving out permits to cut trees, will cut a 1000-year-old tree and replace it by
planting a one-year-old tree, believing the balance has been restored (Ali R. , 2018).
When asked if there have been reforms on government level since CHEPS voiced its concern
through media outlets, Mr. Ali mentioned that it has been 3 years since the current government in
KPK introduced the ‘Billion Tree Tsunami Campaign’. This is a major reforestation campaign
that restored 350,000 hectares of trees by planting new trees and encouraging natural
regeneration as an effort to restore the province’s lost forests (World Economic Forum, 2018).
This was part of KPK’s commitment to the Bonn Challenge, where the government of KPK met
the challenge ahead of its scheduled deadline. The Bonn Challenge aims to restore “150 million
hectares of degraded and deforested land word wide by 2020 and 350 million hectares by 2030”
(World Economic Forum, 2018). In light of this success, CHEPS commended the efforts of the
current government in redressing the deforestation situation in the region. Having said that, Mr.
Ali still expressed concerns as to the amount of work that still needs to be done to mitigate the
negligence from previous governments. Although the current reforestation campaign is
commendable, it is still well below the recommended level of forest cover for Pakistan, and as
such, more efforts need to be made in future (Ali R. , 2018).
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To understand the reasons behind forestry mismanagement by the government, Mr. Ali
continued to give a historical context of the situation. In the past, there was an indigenous system
of forestry management in Chitral known as Saq (Ali R. , 2018). It was the local way of
conserving the forest, where the local people together would agree to protect a certain piece of
land for a certain period. These land areas included different pastures and forests, that were
owned by different indigenous groups or castes. In this way, each caste would put down a Saq,
which meant that piece of land would not be touched by anyone for the agreed period; these time
periods constituted a 5-year term or 10-year term depending on the agreement reached. This
period allowed for regrowth of the forest on that land, while also allowing for goats and other
wildlife to graze the land. Similarly, after the forest was recovered on that land, another family
caste would put down a Saq on another piece of land, and therefore, this indigenous system of
conserving forests continued. If anyone disrespected this system by cutting a tree from a land
under Saq, the community together would agree on a corrective action towards that individual,
such as asking him to pay the price by giving up his goats (Ali R. , 2018). In this way, the system
worked well in the communities as everyone agreed on it. In the 1960s, the country at large went
through land reforms where everything became nationalized, i.e., as such the government came
into the ownership of all the forests and pastures, and the indigenous groups no longer had the
legal ownership of their lands. Since these reforms, there have been a lot of mishaps in forestry
management per the local people of Chitral. Once under government ownership, there was not
enough surveillance for anyone cutting down trees, and over time the issue of deforestation
escalated. As of now, the government is responsible for looking after the forests, however,
unfortunately it does not have a good control over how the people use the forests (Ali R. , 2018).
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6.3 Cultural & Lifestyle Barriers to Entry
During my research on the solar market of Pakistan, I came across a company based in Lahore
Pakistan that specializes in making clean cooking stoves in Pakistan. I made a note of this
company early into my research, as a possible reference if I choose to implement this project
later. While I was analyzing other aspects of my study, one afternoon I received an email from
my supervisor, Ed, introducing me to Khizr Tajammul, the CEO of Jaan Pakistan, who had come
to Calgary to build a research arm for his company. To my pleasant surprise, it was the very
company that I had shortlisted for my future study. Soon after, I met with Mr. Tajammul for an
interview to explore the practical viability of implementing solar cookers in Chitral.
Mr. Tajammul started off by telling me about their pilot project of two models of solar cookers
(see Appendix B)—the concentrating type concave disc and solar evacuated tube oven.
Unfortunately, Mr. Tajammul’s company, Jaan Pakistan, could not sell these solar cookers, but
the reason did not have much to do with the cost of this technology.
A consumer behaviour specialist himself, Mr. Tajammul explained that in most of the
marginalized communities of Pakistan, the members will switch to a new technology if the ‘pain
point’ of their current circumstances is too high. To elaborate further, he continued that if a
community is very desperate for an energy solution, then the cost of the solution is not the
primary factor affecting their decision. Although the cost of the solution does influence the
decision, but if the existing circumstances are too severe, people find means through
microfinancing or other ways of obtaining loans to purchase the solution, said Mr. Tajammul
(2018). In line with this phenomenon, the dire need for solar cookers is not at or higher than their
73
pain point for people to switch. This is because, although these solar cookers are not necessarily
expensive, the foreignness of the technology is not acceptable to the Pakistani society, who is
heavily set in its ways. This was dawned on Jaan Pakistan’s team as they received feedback from
their consumers.
The main complaints of Jaan Pakistan’s potential solar cooker consumer base were the
following:
The technology does not come with heat storage when the sun is not available
The technology is not portable and the user has to stand in the sun supervising the
cooking process. This is a big concern for a couple reasons:
o Pakistan is traditionally a hot country with severe temperatures most of the year.
Therefore, standing out in the sun to cook without a shade is not desirable by
consumers.
o The kitchen can be a private part of a household, where generally women are
involved in the cooking. Some households do not prefer for the women to stand
outside and cook.
The technology has limited culinary versatility. It does not cater to the traditional cuisine
of Pakistan. This turns out to be the biggest deterrent for solar cooker technology to be
accepted in Pakistan.
74
In conclusion, the solar cooker technology does not fit in with the lifestyle of the consumer base.
Because of these practical, cultural and lifestyle barriers, Jaan Pakistan was not able to sell the
solar cookers in its pilot project.
Commenting further on consumer behaviour change, Mr. Tajammul acknowledged the need for
education and awareness around the issue of health hazards and environmental concerns from
using biomass stoves. In a survey for another project conducted in the province of Punjab, south
east of KPK, Jaan Pakistan found women complain about irritation in their eyes and smell of
smoke in their clothes; however, there was no concern over respiratory and other pulmonary
effects of biomass burning. Because the problem is invisible—they don’t see the effects in their
lungs, nor do they see climate change with their eyes, an average Pakistani consumer unaware of
these issues does not consider for either of these problems to exist, concluded Mr. Tajammul
(2018).
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CHAPTER 7: LIMITATIONS
1. Population data of Chitral is lacking, the available data from the bureau of statistics is for
1998 and then 2017 only. Despite a lot of research and trying to connect with people, the
data for years in between could not be sourced. Therefore, after calculating the CAGR
between 1998 and 2017 of +1.8%, the population for the years in between has been
extrapolated using this CAGR.
2. Deforestation rates assumed to be constant for the two decades given—i.e., according to
the literature available, the deforestation studies for Chitral were limited. The only study
of use for this project provided the deforestation rate per annum in Chitral for the periods
of 1992-2000 and then the period of 2000-2009. Therefore, the yearly rate of
deforestation was considered constant between these years.
3. Although going into the research, one can assume there to be a strong correlation
between deforestation rate and growth in population as firewood is the main source of
fuel for cooking; however, since the data behind the calculation is extrapolated, the
correlation coefficient needs to be considered with caution. This is an area for further
research.
4. The health hazards of using firewood are significant as discussed in literature review.
However, I did not include the negative impacts of firewood use in this study of Chitral.
As such, there could be a case for health care dollar cost of using firewood, arising from
all the expenses incurred to treat health illnesses from firewood use for cooking (such as
pulmonary diseases from inhaling toxic substances from indoor air pollution, burns and
so on).
76
5. For a more comprehensive environmental comparison of the two fuel sources—i.e.,
firewood and solar stoves, the CO2 emissions generated from the manufacturing of solar
stoves could be investigated. However, I did not include this investigation in the scope of
my study.
6. The opportunity cost of collecting firewood is difficult to calculate. As such, I had to
make assumptions on number of individuals in the household collecting firewood.
Additionally, I assumed the minimum wage for unskilled labour to estimate what could
be a wage earned by this individual spending time collecting firewood. In reality, the
wage could be a lot higher if multiple individuals in the household are involved in
collecting firewood and/or the individual is skilled in a particular job. I did not
investigate the case of children involved in collecting firewood, in which case calculating
opportunity cost would consider the time that could be spent in school to obtain an
education.
7. There is a lack of public awareness around the negative impacts of firewood use. Due to
this lack of awareness, the local consumer of firewood does not necessarily appreciate the
significance of the health hazards arising out of burning firewood for cooking. There is
also a lower concern for environmental degradation.
77
CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSIONS
8.1 Energy Comparison
To verify the wood consumption by the residents of Chitral as was given by the data provided by
PEDO, I calculated the amount of energy required for cooking a standard bowl or soup. As such,
I calculated how much energy is available to an average household in Chitral if they are
consuming 40 kg of firewood in 3 days, as given by PEDO (Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development
Organization, 2017). The amount of cooking energy available to a household, using traditional
firewood cooking (30 to 50 MJ) was consistent with my rough estimate of the amount of energy
required to cook a 2L bowl of soup (15 MJ).
8.2 Environmental Impacts of Firewood Use for Cooking
There are clear adverse environmental effects of using firewood. Firewood use in Chitral results
in about 702 kilotonne of CO2 emissions made in a year, based on the population of Chitral in
2017.
Whereas, the annual consumption of firewood in Chitral is about 425 kilotonne, based on the
2017 population. This firewood is commonly sourced from the Oak trees of Chitral. While there
are five common Oak species in Chitral, the three prevalent types are Bunj or Holy Oak, Rein or
White Oak and Barungi. If the 425 kilotonnes were to be sourced entirely out of the Bunj tree,
then this is equivalent of 317,462 trees; if the wood is entirely sourced out of the Rein tree then
this equates to approximately 32,826 trees; and if it were to be sourced out of Barungi tree then
this equated to approximately 17,451 trees felled in one year. This estimation of the number of
78
trees felled are based on the population of 2017. Consequently, switching to an alternative source
of cooking such as a solar cooker can save the corresponding number of trees in one year.
Evidence of government mismanagement of local forests indicates that increase in population
and over-reliance on firewood is not the only reason of severe deforestation in the region of
Chitral.
8.3 Economic Feasibility of Implementing Solar Cookers
The annual cost of firewood, if purchased in the local market, for a typical household in Chitral
is approximately $590 USD. Whereas, the annual opportunity cost of gathering firewood for an
average Chitrali household I have estimated to be $422 USD. This opportunity cost has the
potential to be higher when the number of individuals in the household collecting firewood
increases and as the skill and education level of these individuals rises. As such, with higher skill
level, the average wage per hour increases, which causes the opportunity cost to increase.
On the other hand, the cost of a solar stove for the residents of Chitral is between $120 and $220
USD, where these products are provided by Jaan Pakistan. These solar stoves have a useful life
of 3 to 5 years. Therefore, there is an economic incentive for residents of Chitral to switch to
solar stoves as there are significant savings once firewood use is abandoned. Additionally,
considering the monetary pain point for a resident of Chitral, the cost of purchasing a solar stove
may be irrelevant as the consumer may be willing to purchase the product by any means to fulfill
their basic necessity of cooking and heating. However, the solar stoves are not yet a feasible
solution for Pakistan at large. This is because this technology does not cater to the very specific
cultural, culinary and lifestyle requirements of the Pakistani population.
79
CHAPTER 9: FUTURE RESEARCH
The main challenge for Chitral is acceptance of new technology as it does not align with cultural
norms and lifestyle of the local people. Therefore, behaviour change as a force to understand the
consumer mindset and breaking through the cultural barriers needs to be further investigation. By
studying similar struggles in technological advances elsewhere in the world, a plan can be
proposed for Chitral.
Considering the deforestation problem due to policy lapse and government mismanagement,
there is a need for exploring the environmental policy setting of Pakistan. Understanding the
environmental policy landscape of Pakistan, historical evolution, land reforms, climate change
policy and measuring results will help in appreciating the challenges faced by Pakistan. It will
also allow for identifying areas of improvement. Consequently, new aggressive policy initiatives
should be suggested for Pakistan, in order to compensate for the previous severe loss of forests
that has been going on for decades. Policy instruments will help drive the change towards
environmental conservation, as the main bottleneck for Chitral has been consumer unacceptance
of alternative technologies.
While policy instruments drive the necessary transition towards environmental conservation,
there is a parallel need for addressing consumer behaviour change for Pakistan. Therefore, there
should be an effort on increasing awareness around negative effects of firewood use through
education and the severe health hazards. As the problem is invisible to an average consumer,
there should be a strong endeavor to bring more awareness around these issues. By drawing from
80
lessons learnt from similar initiatives around the world, a proposal can be drafted for the case of
Chitral and Pakistan at large.
An important factor driving the behaviour change towards cleaner cooking options, such as solar
cookers, is analyzing the health care dollar cost associated with the use of firewood. By studying
the overall costs incurred by residents of Chitral in getting the required health treatment to
address ailments from exposure to firewood emissions, the consumers can be convinced on an
economic incentive. Therefore, a future research can explore the health care dollar cost of the use
of firewood for Chitral.
The opportunity cost of collecting firewood for the case of Chitral can be further researched. In
specific, exploring the division of labor around gender roles may help analyze the issue on a
deeper level. It will also create a clearer view of the true potential of economic savings if
households were to move away from firewood use.
81
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APPENDIX A
Report on Firewood in Chitral from PEDO
Upon my request for information, PEDO provided me with this report on firewood consumption
in Chitral. This report from PEDO served as my main source for conducting analysis on
firewood use in Chitral.
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DistrictChitralislocatedinnorthontheprovinceandthelargestdistrictofKhyberPakhtunkhwawith
approximatelyareaof14850km2andestimatedpopulationaround447,362(Census2017).TheDistrictis
administrativelydividedintotwosub-divisions(ChitralandMastuj).Beingthemostisolatedareaof
Pakistan,thepeopleofChitralarefacingproblemsinlivestock,Electricityandfuelenergy.TheDistrictis
largelydeprivedofElectricityandfuelforcookingandheatingrooms.
TheenergyrequiredbythepeopleofChitralareforthefollowingbasicpurposes:
a. SourceofElectricityforlighting,radios,televisions,communicationandfansduringsummer
season.
b. Sourceoffuelforcooking,heatingroomsduringwintersandheatingwater.
ThefollowingarethekeypointthatmakesDistrictChitralmostsuitableforyourresearchonrenewable
sourceofcooking:
1. Non-availabilityofElectricity:
DespiteoftheGovernmenteffortstoconnectthewholeDistrictwiththenearbyNationalStationsinother
districtsanddeveloplocalPowerStations,inlargethedistrictdoesnothaveproperelectricitysourcethat
mayalsobeusedforcookingpurposes.
2. NoGasPipeLines:
NogaspipelineisavailableintheDistrictforsupplyingsmokelessandcleansourceoffuelforcookingand
heatingpurposes.However,SuiNorthernGasPipelinesLimited(SNGPL)hasinitiatedsurveyforselection
ofsiteinDistrictChitralclosetoDistrictDirwherethecompanycouldtransporttheLiquefiedPetroleum
Gas(LPG)byroadandsupplytheairmixedLPGtothelowerChitral(Sub-division).Thisprojecthasnot
yetstartedandwilltakeenoughtimeasproblemsarebeingfacedduetohardterrainoftheDistrict.
Onthesmallscale,thepeopleofChitralusetheLPGgasthataretransportedincylindersfromthelower
districtsoftheprovince.However,asthetransportershavetotransportthesecylinderforalargedistance,
thepriceoftheLPGisrelativelyhighascomparedtotheotherpartsofthecounty.TheuseofGas/oilas
fuelforcookinginChitralis0.1%,therestisfulfilledthroughwood/charcoal.
3. DepletionofForests:
AsperthestatementofForestConservator,theforestsofCentralandSouthernpartsofChitralwere
packedwithoaktreesanditswoodwasavailabletolocalpeopleatcheaperprice.Theoakpopulation
starteddepletinginearly1980s.Thereasonbehindthedepletionisthatanoaktreematuredinabout
100yearsforharvestingwhileduetolackofsourceoffuel,thewoodcuttersfelldowneventheyoung
saplings.Itisestimatedthatovertheyears,thepricesofthewoodsoaredandsoonitsusewouldbe
luxury.Intheyear2008the40kgofoakwoodwasavailableatRs.160/-whilethepricesrosetoalmost
Rs.600/40kgtoday.However,thepeopleofChitralhasnoothersourcesavailabletothemtoswitchto
forcookingandheating.AsperthereportofPPAF(PakistanPovertyAlleviationFund),themajorsource
ofcookingiswood/charcoalwithis99.9%.Thesmokeproducedduringburningalsocontributeinpolluting
theenvironmentofChitralandincreaseoftoxicgaseslikeCarbon-dioxide.
Source Overall% Urban% Rural%
Gas/Oil 0.1 0.86 0
DistrictChitralislocatedinnorthontheprovinceandthelargestdistrictofKhyberPakhtunkhwawith
approximatelyareaof14850km2andestimatedpopulationaround447,362(Census2017).TheDistrictis
administrativelydividedintotwosub-divisions(ChitralandMastuj).Beingthemostisolatedareaof
Pakistan,thepeopleofChitralarefacingproblemsinlivestock,Electricityandfuelenergy.TheDistrictis
largelydeprivedofElectricityandfuelforcookingandheatingrooms.
TheenergyrequiredbythepeopleofChitralareforthefollowingbasicpurposes:
a. SourceofElectricityforlighting,radios,televisions,communicationandfansduringsummer
season.
b. Sourceoffuelforcooking,heatingroomsduringwintersandheatingwater.
ThefollowingarethekeypointthatmakesDistrictChitralmostsuitableforyourresearchonrenewable
sourceofcooking:
1. Non-availabilityofElectricity:
DespiteoftheGovernmenteffortstoconnectthewholeDistrictwiththenearbyNationalStationsinother
districtsanddeveloplocalPowerStations,inlargethedistrictdoesnothaveproperelectricitysourcethat
mayalsobeusedforcookingpurposes.
2. NoGasPipeLines:
NogaspipelineisavailableintheDistrictforsupplyingsmokelessandcleansourceoffuelforcookingand
heatingpurposes.However,SuiNorthernGasPipelinesLimited(SNGPL)hasinitiatedsurveyforselection
ofsiteinDistrictChitralclosetoDistrictDirwherethecompanycouldtransporttheLiquefiedPetroleum
Gas(LPG)byroadandsupplytheairmixedLPGtothelowerChitral(Sub-division).Thisprojecthasnot
yetstartedandwilltakeenoughtimeasproblemsarebeingfacedduetohardterrainoftheDistrict.
Onthesmallscale,thepeopleofChitralusetheLPGgasthataretransportedincylindersfromthelower
districtsoftheprovince.However,asthetransportershavetotransportthesecylinderforalargedistance,
thepriceoftheLPGisrelativelyhighascomparedtotheotherpartsofthecounty.TheuseofGas/oilas
fuelforcookinginChitralis0.1%,therestisfulfilledthroughwood/charcoal.
3. DepletionofForests:
AsperthestatementofForestConservator,theforestsofCentralandSouthernpartsofChitralwere
packedwithoaktreesanditswoodwasavailabletolocalpeopleatcheaperprice.Theoakpopulation
starteddepletinginearly1980s.Thereasonbehindthedepletionisthatanoaktreematuredinabout
100yearsforharvestingwhileduetolackofsourceoffuel,thewoodcuttersfelldowneventheyoung
saplings.Itisestimatedthatovertheyears,thepricesofthewoodsoaredandsoonitsusewouldbe
luxury.Intheyear2008the40kgofoakwoodwasavailableatRs.160/-whilethepricesrosetoalmost
Rs.600/40kgtoday.However,thepeopleofChitralhasnoothersourcesavailabletothemtoswitchto
forcookingandheating.AsperthereportofPPAF(PakistanPovertyAlleviationFund),themajorsource
ofcookingiswood/charcoalwithis99.9%.Thesmokeproducedduringburningalsocontributeinpolluting
theenvironmentofChitralandincreaseoftoxicgaseslikeCarbon-dioxide.
Source Overall% Urban% Rural%
Gas/Oil 0.1 0.86 0
91
Soilerosionandenvironmentaldegradationarethemajorresultofmassivecuttingoftreesthatare
eventuallycausingregularmudfloodsinthevariousvalleysofChitral.
1. AccessWaytotheDistrict:
TheLawariPass(10,400ft.)inthesouthconnectsChitraltoUpperDirdistrictandisthemajorlandroute
outofthisdistrict.TheShandurPass(12,700ft.)leadstoGilgitandfromthereviatheKarakoramHighway
totherestofthecountry.Becauseofextremeweatherconditions,boththeseroutesremainclosedfor
aboutquarterayearfromDecembertoFebruary.Duringthisperiodtheonlyaccesstoandfromthis
districtisbyPIAairservicewhichisitselfsubjecttotheerraticweather.LowariTunnelisan8.75km(5.3
mile.)longtunnelconnectingChitralwiththeotherpartsoftheprovince.Theverypurposeofthistunnel
wastosmoothenthecommunicationofChitralwithotherpartsoftheprovinceasitremainscutoffin
winter.Theworkontunnelisinprogresshoweveritremainedopentwodaysaweek.Peoplewithan
urgentneedtoreachPeshawarorotherareasandtradersoffood/itemsespeciallyperishablegoodstend
tousearoadthatpassesthroughKunarProvinceofAfghanistanandreentersPakistanterritoryatNawa
PassinBajaurAgency.This200KilometersstretchofroadthroughAfghanistanisinpoorconditionbut
hastheadvantageofbeinganall-weatherroute.MostbulkyitemssuchasGhee,SugarandWheatare
stockedwellbeforetheonsetofwinterinordertoconsumefortheseason.
UnionCouncil&VillagesofDistrictChitral:
Followingarethe24unioncouncilsofDistrictChitral(bothsub-divisions).
Sr.No NameofUnionCouncil
1 Danin
2 Chitral-I
3 Chitral-II
4 Koh5 Broze
6 Ayun
7 Shishikoh
8 Darosh-I
9 Darosh-II
10 Asherate
11 Arrandu
12 Lotkoh
13 Shoghore
14 Karimabad
TehsilMastuj
15 Owir
16 Kosht
17 Mulkhow18 Terich
19 Shagram
20 Khot
21 Yarkhun
92
Soilerosionandenvironmentaldegradationarethemajorresultofmassivecuttingoftreesthatare
eventuallycausingregularmudfloodsinthevariousvalleysofChitral.
1. AccessWaytotheDistrict:
TheLawariPass(10,400ft.)inthesouthconnectsChitraltoUpperDirdistrictandisthemajorlandroute
outofthisdistrict.TheShandurPass(12,700ft.)leadstoGilgitandfromthereviatheKarakoramHighway
totherestofthecountry.Becauseofextremeweatherconditions,boththeseroutesremainclosedfor
aboutquarterayearfromDecembertoFebruary.Duringthisperiodtheonlyaccesstoandfromthis
districtisbyPIAairservicewhichisitselfsubjecttotheerraticweather.LowariTunnelisan8.75km(5.3
mile.)longtunnelconnectingChitralwiththeotherpartsoftheprovince.Theverypurposeofthistunnel
wastosmoothenthecommunicationofChitralwithotherpartsoftheprovinceasitremainscutoffin
winter.Theworkontunnelisinprogresshoweveritremainedopentwodaysaweek.Peoplewithan
urgentneedtoreachPeshawarorotherareasandtradersoffood/itemsespeciallyperishablegoodstend
tousearoadthatpassesthroughKunarProvinceofAfghanistanandreentersPakistanterritoryatNawa
PassinBajaurAgency.This200KilometersstretchofroadthroughAfghanistanisinpoorconditionbut
hastheadvantageofbeinganall-weatherroute.MostbulkyitemssuchasGhee,SugarandWheatare
stockedwellbeforetheonsetofwinterinordertoconsumefortheseason.
UnionCouncil&VillagesofDistrictChitral:
Followingarethe24unioncouncilsofDistrictChitral(bothsub-divisions).
Sr.No NameofUnionCouncil
1 Danin
2 Chitral-I
3 Chitral-II
4 Koh5 Broze
6 Ayun
7 Shishikoh
8 Darosh-I
9 Darosh-II
10 Asherate
11 Arrandu
12 Lotkoh
13 Shoghore
14 Karimabad
TehsilMastuj
15 Owir
16 Kosht
17 Mulkhow18 Terich
19 Shagram
20 Khot
21 Yarkhun
24 Charun
ThefollowingvillagesarereporteddeprivedwithnosourceofenergyinSub-DivisionMastuj:
Sr.
No.Ward VillageCouncil Un-ElecPopulation TotalHouseholds
1 BooniCharun 3776 755
Reshun 4070 814
2 LaspurSonoghur 2154 431
Awi 2565 513
3 Mastuj
Parwak 2502 500
Mastuj 3272 654
Perkusap 3496 699
Khooxh 3867 773
4 ShagramWerkap 3415 683
Shagram 4699 940
5 TerichMadak 4915 983
TerichPayeen 3529 706
6 Mulkhow
Nogram 3450 690
Warijun 3445 689
Saht 3165 633
Kushum 3938 788
7 Kosht
Drungagh 2843 569
Kosht 4489 898
Sandragh 2632 526
Morder 3095 619
8 Awir Gohkir 4254 851
9 Koh
Koghozi/
Barghozi
Kuju/Ragh
Golen 2333 467
Prayit/Mroi 3829 766
Mori 2338 468
Barnis 2901 580
FireWoodConsumption:
AnaveragehouseholdofDistrictChitralconsistsof5-6members.Forcookingpurpose40KGofwood
lastsfor2to3days.
93
(Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization, 2017)
24 Charun
ThefollowingvillagesarereporteddeprivedwithnosourceofenergyinSub-DivisionMastuj:
Sr.
No.Ward VillageCouncil Un-ElecPopulation TotalHouseholds
1 BooniCharun 3776 755
Reshun 4070 814
2 LaspurSonoghur 2154 431
Awi 2565 513
3 Mastuj
Parwak 2502 500
Mastuj 3272 654
Perkusap 3496 699
Khooxh 3867 773
4 ShagramWerkap 3415 683
Shagram 4699 940
5 TerichMadak 4915 983
TerichPayeen 3529 706
6 Mulkhow
Nogram 3450 690
Warijun 3445 689
Saht 3165 633
Kushum 3938 788
7 Kosht
Drungagh 2843 569
Kosht 4489 898
Sandragh 2632 526
Morder 3095 619
8 Awir Gohkir 4254 851
9 Koh
Koghozi/
Barghozi
Kuju/Ragh
Golen 2333 467
Prayit/Mroi 3829 766
Mori 2338 468
Barnis 2901 580
FireWoodConsumption:
AnaveragehouseholdofDistrictChitralconsistsof5-6members.Forcookingpurpose40KGofwood
lastsfor2to3days.
94
APPENDIX B
Jaan Pakistan Product Listing
The following products are available for purchase at Jaan Pakistan. The company currently has
three products in the clean cooking category. Two products—the Concave Stove and the Sable
Stove, are solar cookers; whereas, the Efficient Firewood Stove is a cleaner, more efficient
biomass stove.
(Jaan Pakistan, 2016b)
95
(Jaan Pakistan, 2016b)
96
97
APPENDIX C
Go Sun Product Listing and Comparison
Go Sun is a major supplier of solar cookers internationally. The graphic and the table below
compare the various products provided by Go Sun in terms of the products’ specifications.
(GoSun, 2016b).
98
Cooker Type Pros Cons Market Price Capacity
Simple Panel
Cooker
- Low cost
- Easily constructed
- Portable
- Max temperature reached is
low (~120C/248F)
- Cannot fry food
- Durability varies
~<$50 USD - 5-6 meals
Basic Box
Cooker
- More capacity
- Baking option available
- Requires low maintenance
- Frying option not available
- Poor performance in low
angle light
- Not very portable
~<$40 USD - 4-8 meals
Advanced
Panel Cooker
- Fast at reaching maximum
temperature
- Reaches a higher maximum
temperature than a simple
panel cooker
- Requires low maintenance
- Moderate capacity
- Poor absorption in low sun
(especially winters)
~$100 USD -
$185 USD
- 5-6 meals
Parabolic Dish
Cooker
- More versatile for cooking
(frying and grilling options
available)
- Cooking times like
conventional stove top
- Need to adjust periodically
to track sun
- Low performance in
intermittent sun light
- Can be dangerous if not
used correctly
- Not very portable
- Can be expensive
~$550 USD - 4-8 meals
Advanced Box
Cooker
- More capacity
- Baking option available
- Requires little adjustment
for tracking the sun
- Heats faster than a basic box
cooker
- Difficult to fry
- Poor performance in low
angle light
- Not very portable
~$350 USD - 4-10 meals
Gosun Grill - Good performance in
low/intermittent light
- More versatile for cooking
(baking, roasting and frying
options available)
- Expensive
- Moderate durability, needs
care when handling
- Is heavy/weight is an issue
~$600 USD - 6-8 meals
99
- Requires little adjustment to
track sun
- More capacity
- Cooks faster
Gosun Sport - Good performance in
low/intermittent light
- More versatile for cooking
(baking, roasting and frying
options available)
- Requires little adjustment to
track sun
- Cooks faster
- Portability
- Expensive
- Moderate durability, needs
care when handling
- Limited capacity
~$280 USD 2 meals
(GoSun, 2016b).
100
APPENDIX D
One Earth Designs Product Listing
One Earth Design is another company that sells solar cookers around the world. Below is the
inventory that One Earth Design is currently selling, available on the company’s website.
(One Earth Designs, 2018).