Bithi Karmaker is a young home maker from Satkhira. Her family consists of her husband, his mother, and Bithi’s 4 year old son. Bithi and her mother-in-law share the duties of daily household chores.

Every morning Bithi takes her son to school and her mother-in-law cooks breakfast for the family. After returning from dropping off her son, it is Bithi’s turn to cook. The two women have used a Retained Heat Cooker for more than two years, after purchasing it from a local seller. They use it regularly for cooking rice and also for keeping it warm. As rice is eaten three times every day, it is a great help for them to have the cooking time reduced. As the rice finishes off cooking inside the bag, they can continue using the stove for cooking curries or lentils. The family has used it during both summer and winter seasons. The food that is kept warm inside the bag tastes much better than if it was heated separately. Even when Bithi and her mother-in-law are out of the house, other family members can easily have their meal.

The stove used in their home is a Bondhu Chula (Improved Cookstove) and they use wood as fuel. When asked about fuel savings, Bithi mentioned that both fuel cost and total cooking time has been reduced by at least 50% after they started using the Retained Heat Cooker. This means that the family’s monthly expenses have been reduced, and the spare money can be used for other purposes.

Moreover, Bithi now has more leisure time for herself and her son. She now uses the extra time to help her son with his studies and also for her own personal development. Bithi has completed her Higher Secondary education and she is interested in learning computer skills to stay updated with the world and to be able to explore job opportunities in the future. Her mother-in-law is very proud of her confident and motivated daughter-in-law, and hopes Bithi will soon be able to start pursuing her ambitions.