pure. | Virdi

Research

Overview

Location: Village Kharak Balra

Chulha in starting was made with only three stones. A mud stove was introduced with a U-shaped structure. To cook on chulha one must squat on one's haunches or sit on the floor. Much smoke is produced by chulha inside the house and there are many health issues caused by it like breathlessness, chest discomfort etc. Chimney was introduced with chulha to solve this problem.

BloombergQuint. 2020. Why A Village In Rajasthan Is Still Using ‘Chulha’ Over LPG Cylinder. [online] Available at: <https://www.bloombergquint.com/elections/why-a-village-in-rajasthan-is-still-using-chulha-over-lpg-cyl-inder>

Gathering insights

Advantages

Enhances the flavour
Keeps the nutrients intact
Smokey touch to food
Kills insects around
Spiritual connect

Disadvantages

Health problems due to smoke
Everyday maintenance
More manual labour and time
Dirty surroundings due to smoke

Short film

A short film composed of 5 chapters which include the beginning of the project, the day in the life of the villager, research, interviews and collaborations.

Watch the full series on Vimeo

These activities helped me gather great insights for my research but moreover, this whole process made me learn more about my culture more, make new connections, learn new methods to research and make chulha myself.

Ideation

To begin with, I already had a starting point as we constructed a local design in the village which I wanted to carry to contemporary kitchens. So, I sat with the Red Dot award winner Anirudha Biswas and Product Designer Subham Banerjee to brainstorm about cooking in contemporary kitchens. We quickly sketched out some potential designs. I 3D-modelled those and kept refining them till I achieved the desired outcome.

Concocting design

Bringing about a change, Pure is an enticingly modern concept with a deep-rooted vernacular touch. One of its prominent features includes a smoke filter and cumulates carbon that can be used later for various purposes. It is a two-stove burner enabling the user to cook two dishes simultaneously. Also, it utilises less fuel usage and can preserve heat for a long duration due to its structure. All in all, it turns out to be a newfangled way of using Chulha in contemporary times.

Features

Contemporary chulha with slim and comfortable mobility make it fit in suburban and urban kitchen setups.
Celebrating traditional values, Pure enhances flavour, gives smokey touch and keeps the nutrients intact in food.
Interaction with the product because the user manually ignites the fire, cleaning ashes or smoke dust.
Like old chulhas, it does not affect your health because it filters the smoke before releasing it.