Prakti Information

Prakti is a social enterprise dedicated to disrupting decades of biomass cookstove design through the creative marriage of rigorous social science field research and meticulous engineering. Fuel-efficient cookstoves have long been seen as a critical tool for mitigating the respiratory disease plaguing women in the global south, who cook predominantly over smokey wood-burning fires, as well as addressing a wide variety of social disempowerment and environmental harms associated with inefficient fuel usage. But for decades, the development community has provided poorly designed stoves that have been largely rejected by the cooks they are trying to help. Prakti aims to change that, both by producing efficient, robust, affordable, easy-to-use, aspirational products, and by exerting design influence on the rest of the sector. Prakti boasts a young, energetic team of top professionals from around the world - high achievers who have chosen to dedicate their in-demand talents to global social impact, rather than the many corporate opportunities available to them. Disciplines include: Engineering, with expertise in consumer product design, rapid prototyping, combustion technologies, and production efficiencies. Social Sciences, with backgrounds in cultural anthropology, sociological field work, and experimental design. Business Impact, with deep knowledge of global development strategy, bottom-of-the-pyramid economics, social impact marketing, and creating effective partnerships with multilateral agencies, NGOs, and other development and relief institutions.