Steam bath stove reduces firewood use, cooking time

By Rajan Rawat,Humla, May 2: Use of steam bath stove in kitchens has been found environment-friendly as it reduces firewood use by up to four times. 

The steam bath stove is in use in the kitchen of a monastery located in Yalbang, the centre of Namkha Rural Municipality, Humla. According to Padma Lama, the principal of the monastery’s school, the stove was introduced to reduce firewood use and save the time of kitchen workers.

In this stove, a small amount of wood is placed in one place to produce steam, which is then used to cook food, eliminating the need for constant refueling with firewood.

Previously, cooking a single meal required about 150 kilograms of firewood. That amounted to roughly 3 quintals of firewood daily, leading to increased deforestation. Upon the suggestion of the monastery’s chief monk, the steam bath stove was installed to address the issue.

In this stove, a fire is lit at the bottom of a tin box placed in one room. A pot of water is placed above the fire, and the steam from the boiling water is channeled through pipes to the pots kept in another room, where the steam cooks food. Up to five pots can be used at once.

With this system, rice, roti, lentils, vegetables, momo and thukpa can be cooked quickly. Around 500 people, including students, teachers and monks of the monastery, are served food prepared using this technology.