Skip to main content

Our Engagement in Clean Cooking

Franke supports village communities in Cambodia and Nepal in switching to smoke-free cooking – protecting both human health and the environment.

7870ced3-91cb-40d7-9430-d0cfbdb1ec55.jpg

An overlooked issue

Over 2 billion people worldwide still cook over open fires or with inefficient cookstoves using wood, charcoal, dung etc. The resulting smoke emissions (source: World Health Organization/WHO) have devastating consequences:

  • Every year, 3.2 million people die prematurely due to exposure to household air pollution from cooking smoke (source: WHO) – surpassing the number of deaths from HIV, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Women and newborns are particularly at risk. 
  • Cooking with polluting fuels produces as many climate-damaging emissions as the entire global aviation industry (source: Clean Cooking Alliance) – with a huge impact on the environment and climate. 

A partnership for change: Franke and SNV unite for Smoke Free Villages

Franke partnered with SNV, a global development partner to support its transformative Smoke Free Village program in Cambodia and Nepal – contributing to the global shift toward clean, smoke-free cooking solutions.

Find out more about SNV

The Smoke Free Village program 

Goal

 

Encourage and enable people to switch from wood or charcoal stoves to electric or gas stoves through sustainable change in cooking behavior.

 

Projects

  • Cambodia (31 villages in the Chum Kiri district, 53,500 people) from March 2024 to December 2026
  • Nepal (27 villages in the provinces Karnali and Sudurpashchim, 65,800 people) from January 2025 to December 2026   
  • Expansion into new project regions from 2027 onwards

The three pillars of the Smoke Free Village program

1. Extensive Behavior Change Program

Under the guidance of SNV, local authorities and dedicated Smoke Free Village committees implement a comprehensive behaviour change program, including village meetings, cooking events, door-to-door visits and school activities. The aim is to raise awareness among villagers about the health risks associated with cooking with firewood and to encourage them to purchase and use electric or LPG cookstoves at their own expense. These clean cookstoves are affordable for most households (USD 15-80). They not only protect families from harmful smoke exposure but also reduce fuel costs by up to USD 15 per month.

2. A selection of proven electric and LPG cookstoves and connections to local dealers 

The program recommends a selection of tested, efficient cookstoves and connects users with trusted local retailers to facilitate access.

3. Targeted subsidies for the poorest households

Following the principle of “leaving no one behind,” extremely poor households receive targeted financial support to enable them to buy clean cookstoves.

Impressive results after first 12 months

The Smoke Free Village program progress shows impressive results in Cambodia after the first 12 months: Over 1,600 awareness-reaising activities reached about 34,000 village residents and helped them to make well-informed decisions about how they want to cook in the future. The inhabitants of the 31 villages in the program have already purchased 12,000 electric or LPG cookstoves, representing a strong shift towards clean, smoke-free cooking.

And most importantly, the use of clean cookstoves is growing rapidly. Today, already 68% of households cook primarily or exclusively with clean cookstoves – a remarkable increase from just 6% at the start of the project in June 2024. As a result, around 33,000 additional people now benefit from smoke-free or mostly smoke-free cooking.

The program progress is monitored regularly and shows impressive results in Cambodia after the first 12 months (June 2025). 

Thanks to Franke’s Smoke Free Village program in Cambodia, 62% of households in the project region have already switched to using clean cook stoves. This helps protecting more than 33,000 people from harmful smoke.

Contact the Sustainability Team

Do you have questions? Just send us an e-mail.

Sustainability Reports

Our database of downloadable sustainability reports.

Discover