Day 3 was mostly spent in a field visit to a settlement on the way to Amrapur, where we visited a number of houses in search of problems and get to know the chula of the villages.
1. Jagruti S. Rawal
- 35 Years User
- Wood with plastic wrapper - Kept in open - LPG during rainy season - Wood stock kept inside during rainy season, then dried - Eyes burn due to smoke; breathing problems - Ash is used for cleaning utensils - cleaning in 3-4 days - life span 7-8 months - steel and german silver utensils - Bajra Roti, Khichdi, Sag - Cow Dung is used to coat the chula which can also be used for decorations. - Thick wood is preferred - 2-3 Big wood logs for 10L water
2. Jashika Rawal
- Ardushi, Bawar, Neem - Soot formation on roof - Cow dung used as alternative to Wood - Multiple chulhas - Don't use gas even though they have it - Chulha Tastes good - Wet wood is dried using secondary stock of wood - Roti uses more fuel and Water uses less - Blister formation due to wood transportation and handling - Subsidised gas - Gobar and black soil used for polishing - Primus is used in rainy season, gas is used in rainy season - Gas roti is very hard and cannot be eaten alone
3. Kokila Ben
- 5 members - 50/day income - Govt schemes not used by them, multiple complaints lodged - Chula is cleaned in 1 week - new chula every 3 months - Wood and paper as primary fuel - Coal is expensive and wood is easily available - 5kg wood is brought as once - Chula over primus due to unbearable heat and sweating from primus - 30 min for food in Chula - Maidha soil forms the inside and black soil woth cow dung is used as the cover - Terracota pan is used and replaced in a month
4. Kokila Ben 2
- Chula less time consuming - Gas is difficult to control - Gas is costlier - Free stove, Cylinder 2000, Gas 500 - Cylinder is risky
5. Krishna Ben Rathore
- Neem Produces more smoke; Ardusi produces less smoke
- Cylinder is risky
- Induction Stove is just used for boiling due to electricity impact
- Only one soil is used for the fabrication of chulha = (Mahida)
6. Raghunath B.Thakur
This was a farm house and a cattle farm; this was the place where we first got to have a hands on experiment on the chula by making tea. The tea was not good but the experience was awesome.
There were two types of chulha:-
A. Cement based :- Features are:-
High strength
Longitivity (2 years)
Preparation of food takes long time
Wood type used is divalath
Less taste than mud base chulha
B. Soil based:-Features are:-
Low strength
High maintenance
Natural taste
Wood type used is neem,babar
Longitivity (1 year)
The day ended with a wonderful dinner from Sharda Ben at her house in Grambharthi Village. The team could carefully study and experience the actual use of the chula to bake bajra rotla, cook vegetables and khichdi. The group had a first hand experience of the various problems faced while using the chula and got to know about a lot of other stuff about the chula through elaborate conversation with Sharda Ben and her family.
Some more findings:
- If the chula is completely made from soil, it cracks easily; If it is made from cow dung, it burns easily
- It takes 4-5 days in summer to dry the chula
- It takes 6-7 days in winter to dry the chula
- Bajra is added to the chula making mixure to cover the smell of the cow dung
- LPG is faster for cooking according to her and so they use it for regular cooking
- DisAdv1 - Blackening of utensil
- DisAdv2 - A lot of preparations are required
- Adv1 - The food is more nutritious and tasty on chulha
- Dry wood - Less Smoke; Wet wood - more smoke
- More smoke is produced when the pieces of wood are small
- Source of fuel - Forest
- Donkey Dung is preferred over Cow Dung for making the chula because Cow Dung contains acid which leads to cracks in the chula
Finally an ice-cream treat by Sagar Bhai.
