In Gilgit, most areas have access to electricity – but hardly any have access to natural gas. It’s expensive, especially for communities that rely on daily wage labor and subsistence farming. In the community of Shehrot, some families told us that they still rely on firewood for cooking. They simply can’t afford to buy the gas cylinders and refill them month after month.
Gilgit doesn’t have a lot of vegetation because of its rugged terrain, so everyone must climb steep hills in search of scant vegetation that can be foraged for firewood.
“Each journey takes a total of 8 hours including the climb, cutting and getting down,” said Razzaq, a reident of Shehrot who forages for firewood. “All the wood must be carried on our backs and one journey gets us enough fuel for 3-4 days.”
This is not only a cumbersome process, but burning firewood has led to a depletion of already scant vegetation – and causes air pollution inside homes. The people of Shehrot knew this was a problem, but were feeling out of options for how to fix it.
After chatting with some families in Shehrot, we found that seven of them did not have gas cylinders at all. So we decided to give all seven of them cylinders with attached gas stoves, filled with enough gas to last them a month.
This boost in the first month, they told us, would help them get a head start on saving for next month, which would snowball their resources and help them shift from firewood to gas for cooking.
With a new stove and a start on their first round of gas, these families can more easily cook for their children and protect them from the air pollution of burning wood. I’m so excited for them to get started!
Meet Zain! 
Hello Hello! I work for Alight Pakistan with the Program Development Team as an Associate. I have a deep interest in poverty alleviation and empowerment programs that can help lift people up, and I was so pleased to be able to help compelte some of these wonderful projects in Gilgit as part of Changemakers team. I am very excited to share these stories and the beauty of Gilgit with you!
