The Problems:
Problem #1: Smoke Inhalation: Indoor air pollution is responsible for the death of approximately 1.9 million people annually worldwide- one death every 20 seconds! In the rain-forest belt, people must cook indoors and few kitchen huts have windows or appropriate roof ventilation. Smoke inhalation from open fire cooking is the leading cause of indoor air pollution deaths and the majority occur among women and young children. A study by John Brown University determined that 20% of children in Guatemala die from the effects of open fire cooking before the age of five.
Problem #2: Deforestation: Approximately 50% of the forests that previously covered the Earth are now destroyed. Each year, another 16 million hectares disappear. The World Resources Institute estimates that only about 22% of the world’s original forest cover remains intact. Traditional open-fire cooking requires large amounts of wood fuel. Although most of this wood is fallen timber, the effects of constantly clearing the forest floors of its degrading wood disrupts the life-cycle of the forest. Rapid deforestation also leads to diminished or lost water shed capacity creating water shortages, soil erosion and decreased food production. The people affected by this problem are the “bottom billion” who survive on less than $1.00 USD per day and cannot afford an alternative and more effective cooking mechanism.
Our Solution:
Contextual Solutions has developed a smokeless stove using the principles of the “Rocket Stove” which yields high efficiency primary (flame) and secondary (gases) combustion. Many versions of Rocket Stoves are available for purchase, but not accessible to the underprivileged due to the high costs associated with factory production and delivery (most are made in China and shipped in bulk quantities) making them “contextually inappropriate”. We’ve created a simple solution that can be used anywhere there is clay and sand and can be constructed by the people who need and will use them. The system requires simple molds which are designed to create different size bricks. These bricks can be stacked in a pattern to create a smokeless stove. However accessible or remote a village may be, with our simple training, people will be empowered to build their own solution to the problem. If something were to go wrong with the initial stoves, new one can be made as easily as the first. The mold is made from locally procured wood. Each mold will make multiple stoves, on-site, using locally available materials which include clay, sand, some form of straw grass and 1/3rd bag of cement (cement is optional depending on the context). The cost per stove to the end-user is approximately $3.00USD when using cement. Even this price is affordable to those with an income of $1.00USD per day.
How It Works:
Smoke is a mixture of flammable gases that have not been ignited by the fire. The traditional three rock open-fire stoves do not effectively contain these gases, so smoke easily escapes secondary combustion. In the Rocket Stove design, these gases are directed upward, in an enclosed area, where the rising flames (caused by primary combustion) ignites the smoke or unburned gases (secondary combustion) eliminating the smoke, reducing the harmful effects of smoke inhalation, maximizing the heat energy created by the wood and drastically reducing wood consumption. Using less wood fuel allows for dead and decaying trees to replenish the soils by recycling important nutrients and fortifying new generations of plants.
Vulnerability of System:
Effective training is the key to the successful adoption, construction and maintenance of the smokeless stove. Following a training session with a smokeless stove mold, we provide each community with a picture-based manual (in their language) outlining the procedures to test clay composition, determine the best clay-to-sand-to-cement ratio, step-by-step instructions to construct the stove and instructions for how to build a fire in the new stove. Determining the proper clay and mixing the materials thoroughly will determine the life of the stove. Poor grade clay or an improper mix will lead to untimely breakdown of the stove.
Our Strategy:
Our stove technology approach is highly effective, empowering and very inexpensive compared to other technologies. One simple wood mold, consisting of approximately 35 lineal feet of wood, can often be found locally for free or cost as little as $13.00 and possesses the potential to positively affect the lives of over 60 people. That’s less than 25 cents a person! For the cost of a can of coke you can supply the material to change the lives of 240 people. That is the extent of the mold cost. Travel is the bulk of the cost we really have to bear as our solution is primarily training.
Before we travel to any given country our strategy will be to first organize regional training sessions through that country for organizations working with those who need the stove technology. We will train those organizations in order to return back to those they serve and train them. While we acknowledge it is possible to build the stove mold without our on site training using only the resources available on our site, we have found a higher success rate with our being involved with the initial training. An initial attempt that fails often leaves villages disinterested in trying a second time. Training is the key to success and empowerment. Our travel is covered by your much appreciated donations. When we have funds in our account we will be training.
Please Donate:
Please donate to help us take our air security solution to the world!
Comments are closed.