Indoor air pollution claims lives of 1.5 million people worldwide a third of whom are Indians, mostly women and children. (WHO report 2002). To overcome this reality, TIDE has conceived a smokeless stove dissemination strategy, using an empowering, gender sensitive, women led market driven approach.The idea is unique because it addresses the felt need of women through technological innovation in the stove design and processes innovation in dissemination. Rural households depend on biomass stoves for cooking. Clean cooking fuels are expensive and not easily accessible in villages. The process innovation is unique because the strategy for stove dissemination combines income generation for rural women while reducing indoor air pollution and saving time in fuel collection.•This strategy resulted in women acquiring and utilizing a technical skill for a livelihood. It further allowed the trained women to impart acquired skills to others like themselves, by becoming master trainers in stove construction. Issues of Health, livelihood and empowerment were thus simultaneously addressed.