Two years ago, Suraj Narayanan(17), was travelling in the interior most parts of Tamil Nadu, when he noticed how the women exposed themselves to hours of hazardous fumes every single day while cooking. “We all know the common rural practice of using firewood for cooking, but seeing it with my eyes made it so much more real. At that moment, I knew I had to work towards changing it,” says Narayanan, from the Bhavan’s Vidya Mandir, Girinagar, Kerala.

So, after returning home, the Class 12 student along with Aswin AM and Gokul S Ganesh, began to focus on harnessing solar energy for cooking.

After extensive research, the team, in 2017, started working on unique solar energy tracking device called 3e-STECHULIKA.

The three ‘E’ stand for Economic, Efficient and Eco-friendly, and STECHULIKA stands for ‘Solar Tech Chulhika’. So, essentially, it is a solar energy tracking device, which maps the direction of the sun to manage maximum absorption of the light.

Its dome-shaped structure ensures maximum absorption, which is then trapped within the device battery and converted into heat energy. This can then be used to cook, as an ecofriendly alternative to ‘chulha’.

Suraj explains that while using solar energy to cook is the primary goal, the trapped energy in the battery can also be used in multiple ways, including powering emergency lights.

What sets the device apart from the existing solar cookers is its versatility and its ability to maximise solar energy through the tracking device.

“Also, unlike the usual solar devices, it doesn’t require continuously adjusted as per the sun to work. The tracking device makes sure there is efficient absorption at all seasons. The current model of 3e-Stechulika is an 80% working model, with pending modifications, which will make it more cost-effective in the long run,” he concludes.