By Kim, Flint Lab Inc.at the CCF 2017, New Delhi, IndiaUpdated November 28, 2017 The Clean Cooking Forum 2017 was held in New Delhi, India from Oct 24 ~ 26 of 2017, with three exciting days of plenary and panel sessions, as well as remarks from UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, Infosys founder and Alliance India Leadership Council Chair Narayana Murthy, India Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, SEforAll CEO Rachel Kyte, UNICEF India Representative Dr. Yasmin Ali Haque, Ghana Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Alima Mahama, and Alliance CEO Radha Muthiah, among many others. Over 600 stakeholders from 57 countries with 40% of first-time attendees participated in the forum making the event even greater than CCF 2015, which was held in Ghana with 500 people from 50 different countries. Topics of discussion ranged from innovative solutions to challenges in the sector, market growth and development, investment and finance opportunities for clean cooking enterprises, and critical discussions on women’s empowerment, clean cooking’s impact on climate and the environment, and transitioning the sector to cleaner fuels. The three days of plenary and panel sessions were followed by a day of site visits to households and communities using solar, LPG, and biomass for their cooking needs. The speakers and convener We, Flint lab, had a very great chance to attend the forum as exhibitor and delegate. We had an opportunity to demonstrate our Jar-typed stove in front of people from all walks of life including delegates from the International organization, Governmental entity, Academic institution, Laboratory, Consulting Company, Distributor, NGO, and Media. It was wonderful time for us to hear lots of feedback and advice regarding local and international markets in terms of technical support, design, customer, sales, order processing, and etc. Also in the second day, at the poster session, we had a chance to talk to several delegates who were interested in our stove and technology. We were able to share the core ideas and knowledge. These were the magnificent experience for us indeed. Flint stove with the Flint Poster in the Poster Session While being an exhibitor and presenter, we also enjoyed our time as delegates and attendees of the forum. We had a very instructive, as well as informative time listening to, and actively communicating in and out of the lectures. We were glad to learn and share the stories, experiences, and lessons with inspirational people around the world, to deliver the specific impression and comments. Looking back at the forum, speakers highlighted how far the sector has come since 2010 as well as the obstacles that must still be overcome featuring ideas and solutions to create demand and scale the sector, while additional sessions highlighted the role of clean cooking in air quality management and critical lessons learned from women CEOs in the sector as well as the Clean Cookstoves and Fuels Exhibition on Day 1. In Day 2, India Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan shared the goals and successes of Prime Minister Modi’s PMUY program for India, while Rachel Kyte issued an electrifying global call to action on the urgent need to address the sector's significant funding gap and ensure energy access to the poorest of the poor. Lastly, representatives from India, Rwanda, Ghana, Nepal, and Uganda offered insight on the role governments play in creating and expanding national clean cooking markets, and clean cooking champions discussed how they can use their influence to drive the market forward towards universal adoption in Day 3. Clean Cooking Forum 2017, under the theme of 'Driving Demand, Delivering Impact' has shown the incredible successes the clean cooking sector has achieved from women’s empowerment and climate change mitigation to economic growth and improved health around the world. As an extension of this subject, Flint lab has also joined for the site visits to Dholpur and Agra where we can experience multi-fuel/ technology clean cooking intervention by Tata Trusts. Tata Trusts is one of India’s oldest philanthropic organizations, implementing a clean cooking program, supported by Frontier Markets and Pradan, through an innovative model that empowers women to be the drivers of change. We visited village homes of users of a range of clean cooking solutions from improved biomass, induction to LPG. There, we could try to listen and see the real local's life and interact with women entrepreneurs trained under the ‘Easy Life Friends Program’ to create awareness and facilitate sales of clean cooking solutions, who are the exact stakeholder of these all types of cooking stoves. Thanks to all people we met in the forum and site visit, including GACC and Tata Trusts, we have gotten not only group opinion but also individual views and thoughts about the household cooking stoves and clean combustion technology. Moreover, suggestions and idea for the improvement of Flint stove were very much helpful in every aspect whether they're positive or negative comments. The Clean Cooking Forum was a landmark, biennial gathering of people working to accelerate the production, deployment, and use of cleaner, more efficient cookstoves and fuels. The Forum featured influential speakers, engaging learning sessions, and enlightening site visits. Clean cooking empowers women, protects forests, and improves health. Yet, while much has been achieved, far more is needed if we are going to achieve universal access by 2030. Flint lab, in line with this, would like to say “If there’s a problem, we will push for the solution until it’s not a problem anymore. This is about what we do, and the reason why we live.” Meet us at the CCF 2019 in Mexico! This event was held and sponsored by 'Global Alliance For Clean Cookstoves'
