The indoor cooking stove Chulha intended for use in the developing world by Philips Design, is among the winners of the Index Awards 2009,  announced in Copenhagen last night.

Besides being absolutely adorable, Chulha (which coincidentally in Mexican slang spelled “chulo or chula” means cute) allows people to cook in the traditional way but removes reduces the amount of fuel required and the risk of injury or death caused by smoke inhalation.

Very cool.

More details from the Index Awards:

CHULHA

Home category

Intent: limit the dangerous health conditions caused by traditions of indoor cooking in many rural areas of the developing world. The Chulha is a stove designed to limit the dangerous health conditions caused by traditions of indoor cooking in many rural areas of the developing world.

The stove is being made available by Philips Design to the universe of social entrepreneurs so that they can, free of charge, produce the stove, themselves, and generate local business while helping counter what the World Health Organization estimates is some 1.6 million deaths per year from conditions prompted by the toxic fumes of indoor cooking with “bio-mass” fuels (wood, dung, peat, etc.).

For more details read the complete article here.