Phidim, March 1:

The Korean Woman Environment Network (KWEN) handed over 10 sophisticated solar cookers to employees of the Kanchanjangha Tea Estate, Nepal’s ‘first and biggest’ tea company, that has been cultivating organic tea without using chemical fertilisers and exporting it to different countries of Asia and Europe.

Use of the solar cookers was decided to be fit in this region after a test done by Lee Sangjo, representative of Korean Federation for Environment (KFE).

The cookers have been provided with the objective of encouraging the organic cultivation method of the tea estate as well as to protect the health of the estate employees and diminish environmental pollution, Sangjo of the KFE said.

Members of KWEN had proposed to provide the cookers after they saw women cooking food in firewood last year, said international marketing manager of the estate, Dilli Baskota. A total of 146 employees of the estate would benefit from the use of the cookers, Pramananda Kafle, an employee of the tea estate, said.