This article is in special reference to cooking fuel used in the rural areas of the country especially the upland areas of North East India. Rural India still prefers fuelwood as the best source of energy for household cooking and in case of the higher reaches of North East India fuelwood occupies a very important place in the society not only for cooking but also for heating and other purposes. Demand for fuelwood is slowly taking a toll on the natural forest stands. For the rural poor, forests are the only source of energy for their survival. This enormous pressure on the forests has compelled us to find an alternative that could minimize the pressure on the forests as well as meet the needs of the rural poor for energy.

In North East India, traditional chulhas are a common site in households. Villagers mainly use firewood as the fuel in these chulhas. Women folk are mostly involved in household chores starting from working in the agricultural fields, baby care and cooking etc. Smoke emission from such chulhas exposes women and children to health hazards.  

In the rural areas of North East India, a common practice followed by the people is not to use the twigs and branches of fuelwood species. Left overs of bamboo work, carpentry etc are also wasted in most of the cases. The general belief is that these left overs are of no use and therefore the best way is to dump them. Such a situation leads to wastage of such resources and thereby pressure builds up on the forests. At the same time the fact can not be denied that the requirement of energy for household purposes is very high in the rural areas where there are limited options of using the modern facilities unlike urban areas.

An option for using an alternative fuel becomes an utmost necessity at this juncture, a fuel that can be as efficient as conventional fuel in terms of energy and above all takes care of the health hazards by emitting no or less smoke. A concrete intervention towards this issue would be a stepping stone in limiting the excess exploitation of the natural resources for fuel wood by providing an equally efficient alternative. A timely intervention that could address the issue of demand for energy and at the same time is eco-friendly and as efficient as conventional fuel is needed. Bio-residue based energy technologies are considered green technologies since they are near CO2 neutral and global warming issues are best addressed through the use of these technologies.

Beehive biomass briquettes or bio briquettes can be a fitting answer in addressing the issue of sustainable exploitation of our rich forest resources for fuelwood as well as taking care of the health hazards. By definition a briquette is a block of flammable matter which is used as fuel to start and maintain a fire. Biomass briquettes are a renewable source of energy and help reduce the carbon content in the atmosphere. Bio-briquettes are more efficient in terms of heat produced and have longer life when compared with the same volume or dimension of wood or charcoal used. This is a very simple technique which can easily be followed by women who partake in household work. Bio briquettes thus can be a promising alternative for kerosene or firewood. The underlying principle in bio-briquetting is utilization of hardy wastes for beneficial purposes that ensure complete or cent per cent use of the resource from which the wastes are generated. A non-exhaustive of materials for bio-briquette are: 

i)    Small twigs that are left after collecting firewood,

iii)    Waste generated from bamboo  based works,
iv)    Small pieces of wood from carpentry works,
v)     Rice husk and so on.

Given the ease with which a bio-briquette can be prepared, it can be developed as a tool for entrepreneurship among the rural poor of North East India.  The simple procedure followed in preparing a piece of bio briquette is as follows.

i)    Collect small twigs, woody weeds, bamboo wastes, carpentry waste etc
ii)    Burn the above and convert to charcoal under controlled burning
iii)    Take out the charcoal and grind finely
iv)    Mix charcoal with soil in the ratio of 9:1 by adding water
v)    Put the mix into the mould
vi)    Take that out
vii)    Dry in open sun
Thus bio-briquettes can be a better option as an alternative for conventional fuel that meets the demand of the rural poor. Although the technology has now taken new shape by introducing briquette press etc. being able to afford such machinery for the rural poor of North East India becomes a difficult job. Hand made bio-briquettes can give a boost to the rural economy by encouraging entrepreneurship.