The head cook insists that the flavour is enhanced if the food is prepared this way. You get the taste if the food is cooked with wood. Not only is awareness of the more environmentally friendly alternatives low and the initial investment required high. India is still at the stage of seizing any sources of power to meet the needs of a population of virtually a billion and the pressures to allow the economy to grow as fast as possible. In Rajasthan, the village near the ashram is seeing the benefits of the Brahma Kumaris' enthusiasm for solar power.
Most homes now have solar panels on their roofs.
It means school homework can now go on into the night. We save a lot of fuels which is an economical reason. They may be India's most striking example of harnessing the power of the sun but the solar panel should become an increasingly common sight as the technology improves and becomes more trusted. In the pipeline is a plan that within a decade more than a million households will be soaking up the free benefits of India's abundant sunshine. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Links to other South Asia stories are at the foot of the page.