India is mainly an agricultural country, having a huge potential of agricultural waste in the form of crop residues and as by-product from many agro-based industries. Direct burning of loose agricultural waste/biomass in conventional mud-stoves is associated with very low thermal efficiency and widespread air pollution. This indoor air pollution causes serious health problems, especially among women and small children, like difficulty in breathing, irritation in eyes, chronic respiratory diseases, headache and large number of premature deaths among pregnant women. It has also been identified as one of the four most critical global environmental problems by World health Organization (2010). Conversion of agricultural waste into pellets can help not only to overcome these problems but will also create employment opportunities in rural areas. Therefore, the present research was conducted with the following objectives:
1. To work out the economic viability of making pellets as a small scale entrepreneurial unit.
2. To study the use and adoption feasibility of pellet-stove among rural women.
3. To compare the economics of pellet stove over traditional mud stove in terms of time, money and fuel saving while cooking.
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