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.

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

In 2024, 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 over the next three years.

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 March 2026

Nepal (60 villages in the provinces Karnali and Sudurpashchim, 65,800 people) from January 2025 to December 2026

The three pillars of the Smoke Free Village program

1. Extensive Behavior Change Program

Dedicated women’s councils and local authorities run with the guidance of SNV a comprehensive behavior change program with village meetings, cooking fairs, door-to-door visits, school events, etc. Goal: inform villagers about the risks of cooking with wood or charcoal and encourage them to purchase (with their own funds) electric or LPG cookstoves and use them for their cooking. These clean cookstoves are affordable for most villagers (price: $15-$80) and not only protect them from toxic smoke but also generate fuel cost savings of up to $15 per month compared to wood or charcoal cooking.

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@franke.com

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