Bondhu Chula Stoves

200,000cookstoves installed

~50%less fuel used

1 tCO₂e avoidedper stove, per year

Bangladesh

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A man in a yellow vest reaches over a leafy fence to tend plants in a sunlit garden, smoke or mist drifting through dense green foliage and a corrugated roof in the background.

A person in a yellow garment is tending a wood fire in a metal stove, with a glowing orange flame visible through a small opening and a large round stovetop burner nearby.

Cleaning up cooking and the climate.

In Bangladesh, four in five people lack access to clean cooking technology. Traditional cooking methods expose families to harmful smoke, consume valuable fuel and put pressure on local forests.

The climate impact reaches far beyond the kitchen. Globally, emissions from non-renewable cooking fuels are estimated to exceed those from the aviation sector.

Bondhu Chula, meaning “friendly stove,” offers a practical alternative. Built into the kitchen, its efficient design reduces fuel use while a chimney carries smoke outside the home. The stoves are built, installed and maintained through a nationwide network of local entrepreneurs.

A woman in a bright yellow headscarf and matching outfit sits on a low platform inside a rustic, cluttered kitchen with a stove and pots nearby.

Why carbon finance is critical

Carbon finance subsidizes the cost of each stove, making cleaner cooking more affordable for participating families. It also supports entrepreneur training, monitoring and after-sales service, helping the project reach more families and sustain its impact over time.

For buyers seeking an established community project, Bondhu Chula combines measurable climate impact with cleaner cooking, lower fuel use and long-term local delivery. Eligible credits issued under the project’s updated methodology from November 2023 onward can carry the CCP label, providing additional confidence in the carbon integrity of the credits offered.

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From identifying the challenge to creating impact.

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A clay stove with a tall chimney inside a thatched-willow hut, a pot on top, fire glowing from an opening beneath, and stacked wood and tools along the wall.

Smiling woman in a peach saree holds a metallic kitchen appliance with a handle and drip tray, standing in a sunlit open-air room with clothes hanging in the background.

Challenge

Only one in five people in Bangladesh have access to clean cooking technology. Many families still cook over open firepits inside the home, exposing people in and around the kitchen to harmful smoke and air pollution. Prolonged exposure can contribute to serious respiratory and eye-health problems, while traditional cooking methods also consume large quantities of fuel, increasing household costs and putting pressure on local forests.

Solution

The Bondhu Chula is an improved cookstove designed around how families cook. It is built into the kitchen and uses a chimney to carry smoke outside the home, while its efficient design reduces fuel consumption. Carbon finance helps make each stove affordable and supports the local entrepreneurs who manufacture, install, monitor and maintain it.

Impact

Through its partnership with Climate Impact Partners, the project has installed 200,000 Bondhu Chula stoves, helping families enjoy cleaner cooking and reducing smoke inside the home. Each stove reduces fuel use by up to 50%, helping families save money, cutting carbon emissions and easing pressure on local forests. The delivery model also supports local livelihoods through a nationwide network involved in stove manufacture, installation, monitoring and maintenance.

Challenge: Only one in five people in Bangladesh have access to clean cooking technology. Many families still cook over open firepits inside the home, exposing people in and around the kitchen to harmful smoke and air pollution. Prolonged exposure can contribute to serious respiratory and eye-health problems, while traditional cooking methods also consume large quantities of fuel, increasing household costs and putting pressure on local forests.
Solution: The Bondhu Chula is an improved cookstove designed around how families cook. It is built into the kitchen and uses a chimney to carry smoke outside the home, while its efficient design reduces fuel consumption. Carbon finance helps make each stove affordable and supports the local entrepreneurs who manufacture, install, monitor and maintain it.
Impact: Through its partnership with Climate Impact Partners, the project has installed 200,000 Bondhu Chula stoves, helping families enjoy cleaner cooking and reducing smoke inside the home. Each stove reduces fuel use by up to 50%, helping families save money, cutting carbon emissions and easing pressure on local forests. The delivery model also supports local livelihoods through a nationwide network involved in stove manufacture, installation, monitoring and maintenance.

One stove. Lasting benefits.

Through its partnership with Climate Impact Partners, the project has installed 200,000 cookstoves and counting. Each stove delivers measurable climate impact alongside cleaner cooking, lower fuel use and local livelihood opportunities.

200,000 cookstoves and counting

Carrying smoke outside the home to support cleaner cooking conditions for participating families.

Up to 50% less fuel used

Reducing household fuel costs and pressure on local forests.

1 tCO₂e avoided

Per stove, every year.

10,000+ entrepreneurs and service providers

Supporting stove manufacture, installation, monitoring and maintenance.

Bondhu Chula is a success because it is deeply rooted in the community.

Khaleq Uzzaman, Bangladesh Bondhu Foundation

It is very simple, without carbon finance we could not install stoves.

Khaleq Uzzaman, Bangladesh Bondhu Foundation

Workers build concrete blocks outdoors, shaping cement around hollow cylindrical forms; several red buckets sit nearby, while onlookers in yellow vests observe.

Contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Bondhu Chula contributes to seven SDGs by connecting cleaner cooking with lower fuel use, climate action and opportunities for local entrepreneurs.

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SDG 1: No Poverty

Reducing household fuel expenditure and supporting income opportunities through the project’s local entrepreneur network.

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SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

Reducing exposure to harmful smoke inside the home by using a chimney to carry smoke outside.

Group of smiling women in colorful hijabs outdoors, raising hands in a joyful gesture, with sunlit grass and blurred figures nearby.

5. Gender Equality

Improving cooking conditions for women and supporting opportunities to participate in local economic activity through the project network.

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7. Affordable and Clean Energy

Expanding access to more efficient household cooking technology that uses less fuel.

Dense close-up of dark green glossy leaves with prominent veins, some new light-green shoots, creating a rich, shadowed foliage texture.

8. Decent Work and Economic Growth

Supporting local entrepreneurs and service providers involved in stove manufacture, installation, monitoring and maintenance.

Stacks of weathered wooden logs or poles arranged vertically, dark brown tones with visible grain, knots, and rusty nails at the bottom.

12. Responsible Consumption and Production

Reducing the amount of cooking fuel required through more efficient stove design.

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13. Climate Action

Avoiding approximately one tonne of CO₂e per stove each year and reducing demand for non-renewable cooking fuels.

Clay pot sits inside a metal outer container on a clay fireplace stove with a chimney-like structure; a pile of firewood and a corrugated wall in the background.

Closer to the project.
More confidence in the impact.

Climate Impact Partners has worked with the Bangladesh Bondhu Foundation over the long term, combining close project knowledge with technical due diligence and ongoing quality oversight. The Bangladesh Bondhu Foundation delivers the project through an established network involved in stove manufacture, installation, monitoring, maintenance, and after-sales support.

Each project stove is assigned a unique identification number and digitally recorded, with field inspections supporting evidence of stove use and condition. The project is certified by Gold Standard and applies an approved methodology for technologies and practices that displace decentralized thermal energy consumption.

For buyers, this combines long-term delivery experience, Gold Standard certification, an ICVCM-approved methodology and active monitoring through an established nationwide network. Together, these provide confidence that the project’s climate outcomes are supported by recorded stove installations, field evidence and independent review.

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