Overall project development

The IKI Small Grants project intends to create a sustainable business environment for the promotion of clean cooking solutions in Kamalbazar and Sanfebagar municipalities by mobilizing women cooperatives as a supply chain actors. The project aims to achieve cleaner indoor air, lower greenhouse gas emissions, and a better economic situation for the target municipalities through the promotion of clean cooking solutions. The project aims to achieve this outcome by capacitating women cooperatives and local governments to develop relevant policy instruments and financial packages to promote clean cooking solutions. 

By the end of this reporting period, the project has successfully selected four women cooperatives, two in each partner municipality, completed several workshops with women cooperatives on business management, financial packages development, empowerment and entrepreneurship development, awareness and marketing. Along with this, project has conducted exposure visit for municipal governments,  workshop for development of energy policy and guideline and network event between local governments, women cooperatives, users and stove distributors. A coordination meeting and project orientation took place in each partner municipality during the initial phase of project implementation. The agenda include the planning and renewable energy subsidy allocation by the municipal government, disbursement of subsidies for clean cooking stoves and preparation of guideline for renewable energy subsidy distribution. 

This has helped women cooperatives in such a way that they are capacitated in providing a full range of services on clean cooking solutions, and on sales as supply chain actor for promoting clean stoves. Capacity building of selected women cooperatives on the development of appropriate financial packages for the promotion of clean cookstoves have enhanced understanding of credit facilities mechanism for the sales of stoves and increased capacity of women cooperatives’ members. Additionally, networking events have helped women cooperatives to establish business linkages between stove distributors for the sales of clean stoves in the partner municipalities.

Partner municipalities have been capacitated to develop renewable energy subsidy distribution guideline and establish mechanisms for the promotion of clean cooking solutions at the local level. 

The exposure visit of the partner municipal government has been successfully completed in the nearby district (Triveni Municipality of Bajura District) where cook stove program was successful. Local government officials from both partner municipalities visited households benefting from clean cookstoves, engaging with them directly. This has helped target municipalities to develop Renewable energy subsidy distribution policy instruments that is suitbale for their respective municipalities.

key achievements 

• Selection of 4 women cooperatives (2 in each municipality) as a supply chain actors for the promotion of clean cooking solutions.
• Training programs on empowerment & entrepreneurship development, awareness & marketing and business management to members of women cooperatives have been conducted.

• Networking event has been conducted between members of women cooperatives and 4 different stove distributors.

• Information on pre usage of fuel wood have been collected from 1200 beneficiary households in partner municipalities.

• Partner municipalities have been capacitated on establishing mechanisms for the promotion of clean cooking at the local level. This has enabled them to develop Renewable Energy Subsidy Distribution Guideline 2081.
• 4 women cooperatives have been capacitated to  develop financial packages for the promotion of clean cooking solutions.