Changing Lives of Tea Estate Laborers with TLUD Gasifier Stoves
1. WEST JALINGA TEA ESTATE
SAPIENT INFOTECH
ATMOSFAIR, BERLIN
CHANGING LIVES OF
TEA ESTATE LABORERS
WITH TLUD GASIFIER STOVES
This slide deck has been
adjusted in a few ways by
Paul Anderson, with
permission of the authors.
Additions and changes are
presented in red type.
Monetary amounts are
presented in US$, using the
mid-January 2018 exchange
rate of INR 64 = US$ 1.
This slide deck is posted, with authors
permission, at www.drtlud.com . A short
version presented by Paul Anderson at the
ETHOS Conference in Kirkland, WA, USA on
26 – 28 Jan 2018, is also posted there.
2. WEST JALINGA TEA ESTATE– A Quick
Overview
…The Producer Organization
Single largest Organic Fairtrade Tea Estate in India – 900MT annual production.
Located in south Assam (Cachar district), less developed/backward part of Assam.
80% is CTC & balance 20% is Orthodox, Green, White & Oolong teas
Fairtrade since 2years & every year we are receiving approx. $130,000 as FT
Premium money for our workers. It is also RFA, UTZ, ETP & CO2 Neutral certified.
Owner Ketan Patel came across this innovative cook stove when he was invited to
attend a climate change workshop at Fairtrade, Bonn office last year (2016).
Fairtrade has hugely impacted the lives of our workers.
Jalinga is the first (and at that time) only CO2 Neutral tea estate in the world &
now a lot of our buyers are appreciating this new certificate & incorporating it on
their packs & marketing specially with climate change around the world.
The initial users of the stove are very excited & happy with this new cook stove &
they want Jalinga to buy it for all the 1000 families at Jalinga tea estate.
We export 100% of our Jalinga teas worldwide in bulk & retail packs.
3. Sapient – A Quick Overview
…The Project Facilitator
Sapient Infotech (Sapient)
– Based in Kolkata, India
– Promoted by Mr. Moulindu Banerjee - a marketing entrepreneur with 20 years
experience
– a proprietorship concern operating in the area of offering cooking delight
solutions for rural mass
Some Notable Achievements
– Moulindu was part of the core team that developed the “Consumer Connect
Programme” in Unilever. This programme was designed to reach end
consumers in person to understand the consumer's latent needs in urban and
rural areas of India.
– Winner of Chairman's Award for 2 consecutive years for this programme.
– Very successfully running 2 GS Micro scale & a GS-CDM projects in West
Bengal with > 25000 stoves in the field
- The first and still only project in the world to have a charcoal buy-back chain
claiming carbon credits.
4. TLUD Biomass Gasifier Cookstove
– A Quick Overview
• TLUD stands for Top Lit Up Draft.
• Most cook stoves are Bottom Lit Up Draft.
• TLUD technology is pursued around the
world since it saves fuel.
• is a stove with a fuel canister
• which when filled with fuel (any Dry Biomass
waste like twigs, coconut husks, cow dung,
Carpentry waste, etc.) and combusted,
• will enable cooking for an average of 30
minutes depending on fuel type
• and produces precious charcoal at the end ;
• The charcoal can be used for various
commercial applications: restaurants;
incense sticks; and (in the case of Jalinga tea
estate) substitution of coal (discussed here
in detail in the later slides.)
5. TLUD Gasifier Stove
- Key User benefits -
• Pyrolysis technology;
• represents an improved biomass stove that burns clean and green.
• Lower cost of cooking fuel;
• High thermal efficiency of 39% that results in saving of cooking fuel (almost 50-60%)
• Traditional chulahs only have 9% thermal efficiency.
• Significant saving of Biomass material.
• Only biomass residues used; Supports aforestation.
• Versatile Biomass possibility
• Converts waste to cooking fuel ( coconut shells, carpentry waste, dry twigs etc)
• Low Maintenance
• Made of stainless steel; durable; easy to clean and maintain
• Faster cooking
• due to high fire power
• no need to monitor the flame during the cooking session
• Reduced indoor air pollution (IAP)
• better health for women and children
• Resultant Charcoal
• Is of high grade ; 5300 6900 calorific value [6900 kilocalories = 28.9 MJ ] [ See slide 14. ]
• Has multiple commercial applications, including for making incense sticks.
• Waste heat recovery and smoke-free kitchen if Masonry construction with chimney is adopted.
• Excels in boiling and steaming application
• boon for all Indian cooking ( cooking rice, dals, vegetables, milk, etc.)
6. Need for TLUDs
-Understanding the context-
“10 fixes for the planet” – A Newsweek Apr ‘08 article
by environmental thinkers towards making the planet greener/energy efficient
"Stoves for the masses" is one of them.
Inefficient cooking methods - not a trivial problem.
2 billion [ 3 billion ] have their food cooked in rudimentary stoves or over open
fires.
"A family of five can use three tons of wood a year for cooking,"
"If that family saves one ton of wood per year, that can translate into more than a
ton of CO2 saved every year for that family alone."
Biggest CO2 emission happens in the world from domestic cooking using firewood
in the developing countries, after emissions by airlines
The challenge: Designing an integrated
cooking energy solution for the wood
stove market
7. Need Assessment
-Some Declared Statistics -
Address at least 5 of the 8 SDGs that the UN is working to meet by 2020.
Climate Change : Clouds of Pollution
Carbon dioxide, Methane and nitrous oxide present in biomass stove emissions .
Apparently 18% of the problem of carbon emissions is caused by stoves.
Indoor Air Pollution: Health Risk
Fourth leading health risk in developing countries.
Premature deaths - estimated 1.6 million people each year ; women and children
most affected.
Deforestation: Cooking with wood a significant cause
Annual consumption of wood - 10% of wood harvested from the world's forests.
Source ( http://www.aprovecho.org )
Global Mandates;
Not Just Needs
8. How the TLUD addresses the need
Needs of the poor
Saving in fuel cost : 50 – 60% saving in fuel and fuel cost.
Indoor Air Pollution: Significantly reduces emissions.
Improved quality of life : Longer cooking duration; better flame control; Frees up time.
Needs of the Economy
Energy Conservation: Saves fuel : TLUD efficiency is 39% Vs 9% for 3 stone stove; use
of alternate energy
Entrepreneurship: Catalyses economic activity at the grassroots ; fuel sizing and
distribution, biochar collection
Needs of the Planet
Deforestation: Versatility of fuel; including waste materials at almost zero cost; Tree
felling not necessary.
Climate Change: Reduces net addition of CO2 into the atmosphere; Process carbon-
neutral if the resultant charcoal is burned.; carbon-negative if charcoal is taken out and
used as a soil conditioner;
A TLUD STOVE GENERATES 4 CARBON CREDITS PER YEAR
9. The “Biochar” Perspective
Charcoal is the residue of every cooking session.
Each user home generates an average of 25 kg charcoal per month
Has commercial applications - incense stick making, biofertilizer or use as
conventional energy in boilers & dryers
The price per Kg of charcoal in India is approximately INR. 12 [ 0.19 US$ ]
•Each user generates INR 120 [ US$ 1.88 ] per month by
selling the residue from the TLUD stoves. This is almost the
cost of cooking fuel for half the month.
•The collected charcoal is used in the Tea Driers, resulting in
reductions in carbon emission [savings] by using this self-
produced by-product as energy.
11. THE LABOR-COMMUNITY-NEED GAPS
Acute difficulty in collecting firewood – long distances
Inefficient combustion resulting in very high wood usage
Use of 3 stone stove – high consumption of fire wood - Inefficient
Difficulty in storing fire wood for monsoons – Heavy Monsoon Region
12. THE MANAGEMENT RESPONSE
Identification of efficient cooking solution – save wood & reduce
carbon dioxide emissions
Pilot project to check suitability of technology
Providing efficient TLUD cook stove to Labor Communities
13. USER TRAILS
Superb adaptation by labor communities
They felt distinct advantage of using this stove
Wood savings a real attraction for them and
charcoal buyback gives them extra income
Other benefits like better Indoor Air Quality also felt
A huge lift in the overall cooking experience as
the stove teaches them organized cooking
14. CHARCOAL GENERATION
High quality ( 6900 Calorific value ) charcoal generated [ 28.9 MJ /kg]
Charcoal buyback scheme designed by management
Buyback to provide additional income to very poor laborers. Daily
wage of INR 110 ( Ave monthly income = INR 2800 = US$43.75)
Charcoal will be used on the Tea Factory driers
Complete eco system around the cook stove project
15. Putting it all together
for the Project
Key
Stakeholder
Role Responsibilities
Sapient Technology and
Product Partner
•Provide Technology Literature, documentation as needed
•Produce and offer TLUDs to community
Sapient Project Facilitator •Project Implementation
•Project Monitoring
•Data collection & Reporting
•Conducting annual verification surveys
West Jalinga
Tea Estate
Producer
Organization
• Financing of stoves for their laborers
• Provide field level logistics support for implementation
•Design impactful programs for children education,
women livelihood and health (IAP, low smoke) & Social
Forestry
16. Putting it all together
for the Project
Key
Stakeholder
Role Responsibilities
Atmosfair,
Berlin
Carbon
Consultant
•Carbon project CME
•Documentation & registration
•Carbon Credit Issuance
•Facilitate Carbon Credit liquidation
Labor
Community
Beneficiary • Agree to use the stove and sell back the
generated residual charcoal to West Jalinga Tea
Estate
•Co-operate during monitoring survey
17. THE PROJECT SCHEDULE
• 4000 stoves already installed as on June 2017
• 16,000 Carbon Credits ( CER ) expected by August 2018
• Potential of installing 60,000 stoves in the Cachar Tea belt
• Jalinga-Sapient-Atmosfair plan for 20,000 stoves by March 2018
• Need for finance for installation of more stoves in the region
• Total of 240,000 CERs possible per year from this region
CER issuance happens after 15 months of stove installation as per UNFCCC processes
18. As we see it
- Impact Balance sheet -
For West Jalinga
Tea Estate
An opportunity to build on their mission around children education
and women livelihood keeping focus on labor welfare
An opportunity to offer sustained employment to rural youth
An opportunity to improve the standard of living of their labor
community
Be carbon [neutral and even carbon] negative
For Sapient An opportunity to promote a clean technology, representing a world
class product
An opportunity to catalyze economic activity in the community
An opportunity to offer an income generation activity to its project
partners through Carbon Credits
For Labor
Communities
A better lifestyle
Much better cooking experience
IAP reduction
Time saved in fire wood collection can be utilized in livelihood
Incremental income from charcoal sales
19. The Bottomline
• There are many studies done in the unique eco-region of Lower Assam pointing to
the need for
special policy measures to address ecological sustainability, distributional
equity and well-being
providing choices to the community to live the way they like and value what
they have reason to value.
The TLUD holds the promise to do a large portion of all the above.
The TLUD Cook stove
-Has the potential to improve the well-being
index of Lower Assam Tea Industry
-One kitchen at a time -
21. Tea Estate Investment
All calculations are with a base of 1000 stoves
1. Cost of stove - @INR 3150 per stove ( one time) [US$ 49.22 ]: 3150000 [US$ 49,220 ]
2. Implementation cost @INR750 per stove ( one time ) [$ 11.72 ] 750000 [US$ 11,720 ]
3. UN+GS Registration Fees $4500 ( one time ) [ US$ 4500 ] 300000 [US$ 4,500 ]
4. Annual verification fees @INR500000 [US$ 7812.50 ] X 7 Years 3500000 [US$ 54,688 ]
5. Annual UN+GS Issuance Fees $4500 X 7 years [ US$ 4500 ] 2100000 [US$ 31,500 ]
Total Project cost ( 7 Years ) (for 1000 stoves) 9800000 [U S$ 153,125 ]
For the total of 4000 TLUD stoves on Jalinga Tea Estate, that is US$ 1,071,875 during 7 years.
On a “per stove” basis, that is US$ 153 during the total of 7 years, or US$ 22 per year average.
There are also some annual expenses of general support covered by Jalinga Tea Estate.
22. The Charcoal Economics
All calculations are with a base of 1000 stove deployed & Assumption of 100 MT coal usage for driers per
month. Per month. MT = Metric Ton
• Cooking 2 meals per day, each TLUD in use generates 25 kg/mo. X 1000 = 25 MT
• 25 MT of charcoal generated every month as cooking by-product
• Purchased @ INR 4000 per MT = INR 100,000 per month [ US$ 1,563 / mo. ]
• **********************************************************
• **** Costs associated with “Dryer-Coal” (the coal used for drying the tea) ****
• Cost of dryer-coal INR 7500 per MT [ US$ 117 ] [Rather low-quality coal].
• @ 75:25 Coal / Char ratio. There is a 25 MT dryer-coal savings per month
• Gross cost savings per month = 25 X 7500 = INR 187,500 [ US$ 2930 per mo.]
• Net cost savings per month = $2930 - $1563 = US$ 1367
• Cost saving per year = $16,404 and Cost savings during 7 years = US$ 114,828
23. Carbon Credit Economics
• Because charcoal replaces coal, each stove generates 2 CER per year.
• Current Market Price of each CER = 4 € [ US$ 4.76 ]
• 1000 stoves = 2000 CER X 4 € = 8000 € [ US$ 9520; or US$ 9.52 per stove ]
• 8000 € = INR 6L per annum; X 7 yrs = 42L [ US$ 66,640; or $ 66.64 per stove ]
• For the total of 4000 stoves, this carbon credit value is US$ 266,560 in 7 years. ]
Note: CER prices are highly volatile & will depend upon prevailing prices
at the time of sale
Note: This does not include an equal amount of money from the OTHER 2
carbon credits generated because the TLUD stoves reduce fuel consumption.
Part of those credits cover contracted obligations and expenses related to
atmosfair, the agency that processes the carbon credit transactions. The other
part (approx. $ 26,600 in 7 years) goes to Jalinga to partially cover the verification
24. Economic Summary
Calculations are per 1000 TLUD stoves.
Total investment in 7 years 98 L [US$ 153,125 ]
REVENUE:
From 2 CER per year X 7 years = 42 L [ US$ 66,640 ]
From part of other CER (previous slide) [ US$ 26,600 ]
From coal savings X 7 years = 73 L [ US$ 114,828 ]
[ 187,500 X12months]
Total Revenue in 7 years per 1000 stoves 133 L [ US$ 208,068 ]
Gross net gain is 35 L [ US$ 54,943 ]
[Or nearly US$ 220,000 from 4000 stoves.]
“Gross” because some expenses are not noted here, such as for charcoal
collection, stove maintenance, support personnel, and specific admin.
25. Summary of Full Impact
• The Charcoal-related aspect alone provides a return on investment (ROI)
of 136 % in 7 years, or ~5% per annum, while covering all of the expenses
to have the stoves in use.
• ALSO TO BE COUNTED are the other returns and benefits from using those stoves:
A. Value to atmosfair for its part of the 2 carbon credits per stove from less fuel usage
B. Assisting Jalinga Tea Estate to show that it is carbon neutral.
C. Better forestry protection because fewer trees are cut.
D. Healthier kitchens and homes because of less smoke. (savings on health care)
E. Happier cooks -- less attending to the stoves (time savings) , cleaner kitchens,
cleaner pot bottoms, generally better kitchens
F. US$ 131,250 income into the pockets of the households from selling the
charcoal. (About INR 100 or US$ 1.56 per month ($ 19/yr) per Household)
G. Other benefits?? Consider better labor relations because management
brought these stoves to the households
H. The world’s atmosphere has 112,000 fewer tons of CO2e because of these stoves
being used.