The Livelihoods Carbon Fund 3 (LCF3), in partnership with ATEC Global, is implementing a large-scale clean cooking initiative aimed at transforming energy access in rural Bangladesh. The project will deploy 16,000 biodigesters across flood-exposed regions to improve the lives of women and families, prevent deforestation, and avoid over 1 million tons of CO₂ equivalent emissions over 15 years.
In Bangladesh, 84% of rural households rely on traditional wood stoves that emit harmful smoke — posing the greatest risk to women and children — and require hours of labor daily. This new initiative targets low-income families, enabling them to replace hazardous cooking methods with clean, efficient biogas systems. In addition to clean cooking, each system also produces up to 18 tons of organic slurry fertilizer per year, supporting more sustainable and productive farming for rural households.
“This project brings together climate action, gender equity, and support for rural communities” says Eric Soubeiran, CEO of Livelihoods. By helping to fund biodigesters and offering long-term support, we’re backing a practical, locally developed solution that strengthens rural families and protects the planet. It’s inspiring to see communities leading the way, with strong backing from our partners to move faster toward clean energy.”
One such family is that of Khadija, a mother of two living in Gazipur, north of Dhaka. Until recently, she spent over five hours a day cooking on a wood stove. The smoke affected her health and limited her time.
“Today, Khadija cooks faster, without smoke, and her kitchen is safe again,” says Shuvasish Bhowmick, Managing Director of ATEC Bangladesh. “Her story reflects the thousands of families we work with every day. Our team’s deep community engagement and understanding of rural challenges enable us to deploy solutions that are not only technically robust, but truly transformative for the people who use them. With locally trained agents and strong grassroots partnerships, we’re bringing clean energy access where it’s needed most.”
The ATEC biodigesters are manufactured then distributed locally – creating local employment opportunities for over 1,000 Bangladeshis. These systems will convert organic cattle manure into clean biogas for cooking. Built to withstand flood-prone environments and requiring minimal maintenance, the units are designed for long-term, rural resilience.
To ensure accessibility, the project subsidizes each biodigester by reducing the cost by approximately 50%. Deployment will be coordinated with longstanding grassroots non-governmental organizations and local suppliers, ensuring effective outreach across Bangladesh, with a focus on Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna and Rajshahi.
Anticipated Impact:
– Over 2 hours saved daily for women
– 80% reduction in indoor air pollution
– Over $100 annual savings per household
– 2 million tons of organic waste converted into high-quality fertilizer
– Use of non-renewable wood avoided
– 1,019,000 tCO₂e avoided over the project’s lifetime (Gold Standard)
Since 2009, Livelihoods has been a social business committed to transforming global agricultural supply chains and driving large-scale climate action. We work alongside farmers and rural communities to scale regenerative agriculture, improve yields, and build resilient, sustainable sourcing models that benefit both people and the planet. Beyond supply chains, Livelihoods is a pioneer in carbon finance, managing three dedicated carbon funds that restore ecosystems, expand agroforestry, and accelerate clean energy solutions. With 42 active projects, we have replanted 150 million trees and positively impacted more than 2 million people.
ATEC Global is an award-winning impact enterprise founded in 2016 with a mission to use technology to provide clean, affordable, and climate-smart cooking solutions to households across the Global South, operating in Asia and Africa.
