From mentee to mentor: Nitisha Agrawal’s experience in the Women in Clean Cooking mentorship programme

Since 2021, SEforALL, the Clean Cooking Alliance (CCA) and the Global Women’s Network for Energy Transition (GWNET) have collaborated on the Women in Clean Cooking (WiCC) mentorship programme, which supports women to build thriving careers in the clean cooking sector through mentorship and professional development for women in early and mid-management positions, entrepreneurs, and others working in the clean cooking ecosystem.  

Programme participants gain experience from professionals in the energy sector, participate in career-enhancing activities to support goals, enhance professional and personal development, and foster innovative ideas.

Nitisha Agrawal was part of the inaugural edition of the programme in 2021 as a mentee. In 2023, she again participated, but this time as a mentor. In this article she shares her reflections on how WiCC has contributed to her career development.

Tell us about the work you are doing in the clean cooking sector.

I currently serve as the Founder & Director of Smokeless Cookstove Foundation (SCF), a Section 8, Not-for-Profit organization that works with marginalized communities across India by teaching them the skill of making a zero-cost, mud-based improved cookstove.  

The technology behind this solution has been derived from open-sourced Rocket Stove Technology. While anchoring the programme at SCF over the past six years, I set up key business functions and developed opportunities to apply efficient heating and cooking solutions to real-world problems with the social startup Himalayan Rocket Stove as one of the Founding members. This helped me integrate clean energy solutions for a diverse set of community users at a national level.  

While continuing to conduct intimate community training models through SCF, I work as an independent consultant, developing mid- to large-scale programmes to create impact with a community-focused approach in an integrated manner for various climate investment players. From time to time, I undertake independent research-based projects at community level to understand the energy drudgery faced by the Indian rural population living in remote and inaccessible locations. I also help technology developers in various wind and solar energy applications to prototype their innovations in community settings for early-stage feedback.  

I am also a proud member of SAWIE (South Asian Women in Energy), which has been constituted as a platform for women to form a collaborative and strategic approach towards reaching gender equality goals and building strong pillars across the energy sector.

This year, I have been awarded a fellowship by a leading Indian corporation for my work in access to clean cooking for tribal communities. Through this fellowship, I intend to further my work and refine the model to be more integrated and impactful.

How did you get involved in the Women in Clean Cooking mentorship programme?

In line with my endeavour to the sector, I was a part of the inaugural mentorship programme and now serve as a mentor on the same platform.

When I learned about the WiCC programme through LinkedIn, it seemed like a very natural choice for me to participate, simply because there is no platform like this, and it is much needed in this sector. Finding a group of women who are working towards a similar objective in their own home ground, some leading by example and some learning the ropes, felt almost like a homecoming. Involvement from leading platforms like CCA, GWNET, SEforALL also added a huge weight to the proposition.  

Finally, the opportunity to connect, network, learn, and aspire to potential collaboration from the cohort has been a big motivating factor.  

How has your experience in the programme contributed to your personal and professional growth?

It was an inspiring journey for me as a mentee in the inaugural cohort in 2021. Working with Esther Altorfer (my mentor) understanding the opportunities and challenges faced by fellow women clean cooking practitioners in other Asian and African countries has been a great learning experience.

As a mentor, I am working with a wonderful mentee Onjaniana Tolojanahary, who is extremely passionate about her contribution to both the sector as well as women in her country.  

When the platform spotlights the mentors and mentees, it helps us forward our cause and build more confidence within the network. When my story was carried by CCA through this programme, the visibility helped me forge more connections and expand my work.  

What is one memorable moment or key insight you experienced during your time in the programme?

I joined the programme during the Covid-19 pandemic, and during that stage, there were too many uncertainties attached at all levels. The programme helped me realign my commitment to clean cooking and realign my path towards it. My mentor, Esther Altorfer, Chief Strategy Officer at Sistema Bio, helped me view things objectively and made me believe in my ability as not just a practitioner in this space but as a potential leader and influencer. Listening and interacting with other women inspired me to recommit to this space with fresh energy and ideas.  

How have you used your experience from Women in Clean Cooking to contribute to the empowerment of women at the local, national or international levels?

My experience from the mentorship programme helps me understand the problem statement with more insights from other participants, enabling me to make our programmes more efficient and effective. I am also able to encourage some other women in my network to join the programme in India based on my experience. I sincerely believe that the WiCC platform can help young women understand the urgency of our work and encourage them to value the work with more vigour.  

What advice would you give to women and youth who aspire to build a career in sustainable energy?

I urge women and youth to join the movement. Paths open up when we take the first few steps, and the urgency is ‘now’.

On a positive note, there has been a lot of momentum within the clean energy sector in India in the last few years, driven by the desperate need created by human populations pushing planetary boundaries. This has opened space for both inventions/innovations and interesting funding and investment options within the clean energy and climate sector.  

There is a growing awareness amongst various stakeholders, including the Government of India, the corporate sector, and civil society led by the youth, to view our world through the lens of solutions-based approaches to mitigate some of the glaring problems we face together as a human race. The presence of dynamic consortiums like Social Alpha, India Climate Collaborative, Sustain Plus Energy Foundation, and networking, mentorship and knowledge sharing organizations like CLEAN and SAWIE are helping start-ups and individual players like me learn from more established clean energy practitioners and influencers. WiCC has been a big positive influence in my journey. These platforms also provide opportunities to showcase the work done at the grassroots level, besides interesting funding and investment opportunities.  

In terms of actual impact on the field, I believe that that the path-breaking work being done in pockets across our country has improved many lives in terms of clean energy access and improved livelihoods. Now, the need of the hour is to combine and collaborate on large-scale projects that can have a multilayered and integrated approach, resulting in a multi-leveled outcome in terms of positive impact towards carbon emissions reductions and well-being of user families.

The Women in Clean Cooking mentorship programme is supported by the Austrian Development Agency, Iceland Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and NAMA women Advancement Establishment.