ICooking at homeBan Parkthong, Ms Khampeng, 50yearsIn this typical Lao home, the new ICS has been in use for 8 months. Today, Ms Khampheng cooks gaeng pak gaad sai pet, a soup with lettuce and duck. She has four stoves: A new ICS, a taop payat and two tao loh. Her husband is a soldier and she’s got three kids, a girl of 17 and two boys of 22 and 24. She’s the only cook, but sometimes her children help her. “I like the new stove better for two main reasons. I have a feeling it saves charcoal every time I cook. And it boils water faster. The old stove is still working, but when it breaks, I’ll buy a second ICS. I only use the old one when I cook a lot of food so I need two cooking places. The old, wooden-powered stoves I don’t use often anymore.”