D E A R R E A D E R S

ARECOP (Asia Regional Cookstove Program)

The Asia Regional Cookstove Program is a forum for voicing the concerns of improved cook-stove programs in the Asia Region. It influences and facilitates effective and efficient programs

in improved cookstove issues.

PUBLISHERAsia Regional Cookstove Program (ARECOP)

http://www.arecop.org/

EDITORIAL STAFF FOR VOLUME 24Aryanto Sudjarwo,

Erwan Kow

OFFICEJl. Kaliurang Km. 7

Gang Jurugsari IV/19P.O. Box 19 YKBS

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EMAILarecop@yogya.wasantara.net.id

Economics of Rice Hull Cookers and Other Cooking Systems ................................... 5

A Biomass Charring System for Rural Areas ........................................................................ 9

Pilot Project on The Introduction of Paddy Husk ........................................................... 12

Household Energy And The Environment .......................................................... 17

Local Inputs to Improved Stove Development .................................................................. 3

C O N T E N T S

FRONT COVER: BIOMASS CHARRING KILN IN INDIA (Photograph by: Karve,P. et alet alet alet alet al., 2001).

Biomass Residue For FuelBiomass residue has often been

placed at the lowest level in a typicalenergy ladder. Traditional use of bio-mass residues has often confirmed thefuel inferiority in comparison to fuelwood, fossil fuels and other renewableenergies. The use of biomass residuehas often been linked to high level ofsmoke emissions and indirectly, thedeprivation of productive land of itstrace elements and organic contents.

Perception on the negatives of bio-mass residue fuels has graduallychanged, especially with efforts to in-troduce and popularise technologiessuch as briquetting (and other fuel up-grading technologies) and gasifier andimproved stoves. Furthermore, a largequantity of biomass residue also orig-inates from processing (e.g. in centra-lised rice mills and in saw mills) andis not necessarily returned to the soil,hence its procurement does not affectthe cycle of productive soil rejuvena-

tion. Still, biomass residue is under uti-lised as fuels.

Nevertheless, current situation pro-vides a conducive environment for thepopularisation of appropriate biomass(residue) energy technologies. Sixtypercents of the world’s population livein the so called developing countries,in rural areas and depend directly orindirectly on biomass fuel, of whichfuel wood is becoming harder to ob-tain in some localities – hence leavinga choice to use biomass residue. Cutsand eventual abandonment of fossilfuel subsidies in some Asian countries,also means that small industries (in par-ticular) will be looking for alternative

fuels. Furthermore, a huge reserve ofbiomass residue energy, roughly esti-mated at 26 Exajoules (1018)* annual-ly, is also available for use in Asia(compared with the total energy con-sumption of populations in “less de-veloped nations”, estimated at 142 EJ/year).

Noting the above, biomass residuecould become the best candidate as fuelalternatives, since it is available inabundance, could often be obtainedalmost at no cost* * and applied withtechnologies that are within the reachof users.

Glow editorial staffGlow editorial staffGlow editorial staffGlow editorial staffGlow editorial staff

* Estimate is based on crop residue and wood residue data from Koopmans, A. and Ko-ppejan, J. (1997) Agricultural and forest residues -generation, utilization and availabili-ty. (Paper presented in Consultation on Modern Applications of Biomass Energy, 6-10January 1997, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia); assuming 30% efficiency upon conversion ofbiomass to usable energy; and based on calorific value of 16.3 kj/kg biomass. This ex-cludes energy derived from animal wastes.

** Where demand exists, biomass residue has become a traded commodity.

Vol. 24 - June 2001 3

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P R O F I L E

Economics of Rice Hull Cookers AndOther Cooking SystemsALEJANDRO DE MAIO *

IntroductionDuring the past three decades, governments and non-

governmental organisations have made efforts to imple-ment programs to improve cooking stoves in less devel-oped countries with the following aims:• to save fuel expenditures for low income households;• to stem deforestation;• to improve the overall well being of the people (Leach

and Mearns 1988);• and recently, to reduce greenhouse gases emissions.

Approximately 75% of biomass fuel used in the Philip-pines is consumed by households for cooking purposes(ARRPEEC 1996).

Rice hull cookers represent an alternative to the burn-ing of biomass fuels. The LT-2000 stove is a multi-fuelstove designed primarily for rice hull as a fuel, but alsocapable of burning other crop residues, such as coconuthusks, corn cobs, sawdust, etc (Samson et al. 2001). In thePhilippines, approximately 1.5 million tonnes of rice hullper year could be recovered for bioenergy applicationssuch as for household cooking (Samson et al. 2001). Ricemills usually treat rice hull as an unusable residue and isburnt in fields (Samson et al. 2001). The use of this residueas a fuel for cooking stoves would capture the energy thatwould otherwise be lost to the atmosphere, while at thesame time replacing other fuels such as fuelwood, charcoal,kerosene, and LPG (Samson et al. 2001).

The potential users of the LT-2000 stove and the oneswho would benefit the most from it are low-income fami-lies living in rural areas or in small urban areas, in theproximity of rice mills. Economy is a relevant consider-ation in the decision making process of these householdswhen adopting the new technology. The present studylooks at the economy (finances and other factors) of differ-ent alternatives for cooking stoves and fuels.

Financial analysis of LT-2000 and other stovesTwo main factors affect the cost of household cooking:

first, the purchasing cost of the cooking equipment; andsecond, the annual cost of operating the fuel stove (Dutt

and Ravindranath 1993).Purchasing cost usually represents a lump sum payment

that acts as an obstacle for low-income households. Annualstove operation composes of the annual consumption offuel plus the annualised cost of the cooking equipment.From a financial point of view, the latter is a better param-eter than the former when comparing different fuel stovealternatives.

Purchasing costPurchasing costPurchasing costPurchasing costPurchasing costPurchasing cost was determined as the market price of a

stove. The market prices of LPG, fuelwood, kerosene andcharcoal stoves were obtained through marketing researchin the Island of Negros, Philippines. The market price ofLT-2000 stove was calculated as the sum of the cost ofproduction, the cost of distribution, plus a commercialmargin (Figure 1).

The analysis, as shown in Table 1, shows that the LT-2000 stove is cheaper than most alternatives.

The most efficient stoves (LPG, kerosene, high-efficien-cy fuelwood and high-efficiency charcoal) are between twoand seven times more expensive than rice hull stoves. Lowefficiency stoves that use fuelwood and charcoal are signif-icantly cheaper (20-75%) than the rice hull stove. Low-in-come households usually cannot afford to buy the most ef-ficient stoves, so they use low-efficiency ones. The ricehull stove presents an alternative that lies between these

9% 17%29%

40%

5%

Fixed

Contingency

Labour

Material

Marketing & margin

Figure 1. The breakdown of LT-2000 rice hull stove cost

4 Vol. 24 - June 2001

G L O W

two extremes, and that may allow low-income households access to a moreefficient cooking system that does notrequire a large initial investment.

Annual cost of operating cookingAnnual cost of operating cookingAnnual cost of operating cookingAnnual cost of operating cookingAnnual cost of operating cookingstovesstovesstovesstovesstoves

The annual cost of operating acooking stove has two components.The first is the cost of the fuel con-sumed during one year of regular usein a household. The second compo-nent is the annualised cost of the ini-tial investment required to purchasethe cooking equipment.

The cost of fuel is determined bymultiplying the quantity of fuel con-sumed with the price of the fuel to theconsumer. Fuel consumption per yearby a household was only available forLPG and fuelwood (Dept. of Energy,Republic of the Philippines 1995).Kerosene, charcoal and rice hull con-sumption was determined analytically,using data on energy used by a house-hold per year, energy content andthermal efficiency of the correspond-ing fuel, and the following equation:

The annual cost of equipment wasestimated using the function PMT, inExcel spreadsheet program. The func-tion PMT in Excel can be applied tocalculate an annuity, given a presentvalue, an interest rate and a period oftime for the investment. In this case,the present value is the purchasingcost of the cooking equipment and theperiod of time is the life span of thecooking equipment. The interest rateused is an average of the lending in-terest rates published by the CentralBank of the Philippines over the peri-od 1996-2000 (14.4%).

Results of analysis as presented inTable 2, reveal that LT-2000 stove hasthe lowest annual operational cost.Annual operating cost of LT-2000stove is about 33-42% as much as op-erating the cheapest fuelwood and

charcoal stoves, and 25% as much asoperating an LPG stove. The main rea-sons for such a large difference aretwofold. The purchasing cost of LT-2000 stove is less than most alterna-tives. Rice hull is largely availablefree of charge; the only cost to house-holds is the cost of transportationfrom the mill to the house.

Other economic componentsFinancial aspects are easy to quan-

tify. However, they do not constitutethe only factors considered by house-holds when making a decision onwhich cooking system to adopt. Ineconomic terms, other aspects such asconvenience, aesthetics, time require-ments, smoke emissions and healthrisks also affect the acceptance of acooking system.

Convenience refers to the availabil-

ity and accessibility of fuel supply,the adaptability of the cooking stoveto local food preferences and cookinghabits and the installation and mainte-nance requirements among others. Timerequirements refer to the time spentacquiring or gathering fuel, and thetime required to complete cookingtasks. Smoke emissions are importantwhen using biomass fuels, as they gen-erate considerable dirt and respiratoryproblems. Health risks are also associ-ated with chemicals released duringcombustion and present in the fuelsand their ashes. Aesthetics often playan important role, depending on indi-viduals’ preferences. Cooking systemsmay also be seen as a status symbol.

Characteristics of the LT-2000 iden-tified during a pilot field-testing pro-gram in 1999 are summarized in Table3.

LPG

Ker

ose

ne

Fuel

wo

od

E-FW

HE-

FW

Ch

arco

al

E-C

H

HE-

CH

Ric

e H

ull

Cost in USD* 56 24 2,3 6,3 16 2,3 6,3 16 8

Table 1 - Purchasing costs of various cooking stoves

(Source: Samson et al. 2001)Calculated at the exchange rate of 1 USD = 50 Philippines pesosNotes: Efficient fuelwood (EFW), Efficient Charcoal (E-CH), High-Efficiency Fuelwood (HE-FW),

High-Efficiency Charcoal (HE-CH)

* Fuel Consumption,Assuming 3.17 GJ is required for a typical Philippine household each year using different fuels and stoves.

FC* = Energy used per year

Thermal efficiency x Energy content

LPG

Ker

ose

ne

Fuel

wo

od

E-FW

HE-

FW

Ch

arco

al

E-C

H

HE-

CH

Ric

e H

ull

Cost of fuelper Year b

56 24 2,3 6,3 16 2,3 6,3 16 8

Total costin USD

56 24 2,3 6,3 16 2,3 6,3 16 8

Annual equip-ment cost a

14,56 10,41 2,30 3,85 6,94 2,30 3,85 6,94 3,47

Table 2 - Annual cost of operating cooking stoves

a Estimated using the PMT formula in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet using the following data:Stove life span: LPG=6 years, Kerosene=3 years, Fuelwood or Charcoal=1 year, Efficient Fuelwood (E-FW) or Charcoal (E-CH)=2 years, High-Efficiency Fuelwood (HE-FW) or Charcoal (HE-CH)=3 years, LT-2000=3 years; Interest rate: 14.4% per annum; Purchasing cost of cooking equipment: see Table 1

b Sources: Department of Energy, Republic of the Philippines 1995; and surveys of market prices of fuel in the Island of Negros, Philippines

Vol. 24 - June 2001 5

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ADVANTAGES

• Rapid cooking speed

• High heat output

• Modest emission of pollutants compared to fuelwood stoves or the original Lo-Trau rice hull stove

• Better safety compared to fuelwood stoves

• Reduce labour requirement in wood collection

• Capable of burning other fuels (coconut husks, corncobs, pieces of wood), which saves the user buying other stoves and resolves concerns about rice hull availability

ADVANTAGES

• Handling of the ash may present a health risk for users, due to the high content of silica in rice hull ash

• Requirement for periodic tapping during the cooking process to control fuel burning and heat output.

• Occasional surface fuelbed fires can occur

Table 3 - Characteristics Of The LT-2000 Stove.

* Alejandro de Maio,,,,,Resource Efficient Agricultural Pro-duction-Canada, Box 125, MaisonGlenaladale, Ste Anne de Bellevue,Quebec, CANADA, H9X 3V9Tel. (514) 398-7743Fax (514) 398-7972email: reap@interlink.net

These and other characteristicshave an influence in the economicvalue of the LT-2000. Considerable ef-fort has to be devoted to quantify theinfluence of various aspects and to de-termine how these affect households’acceptance of the new cooking system.Moreover, past experiences in stoveprograms have shown that disadvan-tages related to user convenience, aes-thetics, smoke or health problems, canoffset financial advantages providedby any new cooking system (Leachand Mearns 1988).

ConclusionThe present study has shown that

the LT-2000 represents a low cost al-ternative for household cooking, interms of annual cost as well as interms of purchasing cost. This is par-ticularly true for rural and urban areasin the proximity of rice mills, whererice hull availability is not an issueand transportation costs are not sig-nificant.

ReferencesARRPEEC (Asian Regional Research Pro-

gram in Energy, Environment and Climate),1996. Status of biomass energy technologies:Philippines.

Barnes, Douglas, Keith Openshaw, KirkSmith and Robert van der Plas, 1994. Whatmakes people cook with improved biomassstoves?. World Bank Technical Paper Number242, Energy Series.

Department of Energy, Republic of thePhilippines, 1995. 1995 Household energyconsumption survey. Energy Center, MetroManila, Philippines.

Dutt, Gautam S. and N.H. Ravindranath,1993. Bioenergy: direct applications in cook-ing. In: Renewable energy: sources for fuelsand electricity, Ed. Thomas Johansson, HenryKelly, Amulya Reddy and Robert Williams.Washington, D.C.: Island Press.

Leach, Gerald and Robin Mearns, 1988.Beyond the woodfuel crisis: people, land andtrees in Africa. London, UK: Earthscan Publi-cations Ltd.

Samson, R, T. Mendoza, T.Helwig, D. Stohl,A. Elepano, P. Duxbury and A. De Maio, 2001.Strategies for enhancing biomass energy de-velopment in the Philippines. Final Report byREAP-Canada to the National RenewableEnergy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, Con-tract # DE-AC36-99-GO10337, subcontract# AXE-0-30001-01.

Financial cost is not the only com-ponent of the economic value of acooking stove. There are other factorsinfluencing households’ decision toadopt the new stove. These factors arerelated to stove characteristics relatedto convenience, aesthetics, time re-quirements, smoke emission andhealth risks. It is important for anystove program to address these issuesto effectively improve stove users’wellbeing.

AcknowledgementsResearch and development of the

LT-2000 stove program is being con-ducted by REAP Canada (http://www.reap.ca) and PDG Inc. in the Is-land of Negros, Republic of the Phil-ippines through the Canadian Inter-national Development Agency (CIDA)Climate Change Program. Analyses ofthe economics of various cooking sys-tems were funded by the National Re-newable Energy Laboratory.

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6 Vol. 24 - June 2001

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T E C H N I C A L

A Biomass Charring Systemfor Rural AreasPRIYADARSHINI KARVE*, H.Y. MAHAJAN** & A.D. KARVE**

Abstract:Light biomass that cannot be burnt

directly in a wood burning domesticstove or in an industrial furnace, canbe briquetted after charring it. Thisprocess presents an attractive entre-preneurial opportunity in rural areasof developing countries. An environ-mentally friendly and economicallyfeasible system based on an oven-and-retort type charring kiln is describedin this paper.

IntroductionThe growing scarcity of fuel-wood

requires more and more rural peoplein the developing countries to seeklocally available low-cost alternativesto satisfy the household (cooking,room heating, lighting, etc.) as well asindustrial (roadside eateries, potters’kilns, metal-working workshops, etc.)energy requirements.

One such readily available resourceis agricultural residue. However, dueto inherent bulkiness, most agricultur-al residues cannot be used directly asfuel-substitutes for wood or charcoal.Consequently several technologies arebeing developed and promoted, forconverting light biomass into compactfuels to substitute wood or charcoal.

A common objection to the useof agricultural residues to fulfil ener-gy requirements is that it leads to areduction in the biomass available foruse as fodder or manure. On the otherhand, a residue like sugarcane residue(dried leaves of sugarcane) is so high-ly lignified and silicified, that it canneither be used as cattle fodder, norcan it be easily composted. Its remov-al from the field after sugarcane har-vest becomes necessary because ithampers land preparation for the next

operation. The process is environmen-tally friendly, compared to the tradi-tional charcoal making methods. Thechar produced can then be convertedinto briquettes by a variety of well-es-tablished briquetting techniques.

The Charring Kiln The charring kiln developed by

us is an oven-and-retort type kiln..The oven (115 cm high with inner di-ameter 125 cm), is basically a cylin-drical brick and mud structure, with agrate made out of iron rods, fittednear the bottom (Figure 1& Figure 2).The space below the grate is the com-bustion chamber. Although, any kindof fuel can be used for firing theoven, we use sugarcane residue. Thechimney (230 cm tall; with an open-ing of 24 cm diameter at the top) fitson top of the oven, and provides thedraft required for keeping the fire go-ing in the oven. The oven holds sevenretorts at a time. Each retort is a cy-

crop. Therefore, farmersgenerally burn off theresidue in situ after har-vesting sugarcane, be-cause of high cost of re-moving it manually. Inthe state of Maharashtra,on the West Coast of In-dia, with 450 thousandhectares of sugarcaneplantation, about 4.5million tonnes of biom-ass are annually burntoff in this manner. Sug-arcane residue is there-fore an ideal candidatefor use as fuel.

Briquetting of charredsugarcane residues

Any light biomass can be pulver-ized and compressed into fuel bri-quettes. However, in the case of toughand highly elastic materials such assugarcane leaves, the process will re-quire a very high energy expenditure.Charring the material not only makesit highly friable, but also converts itinto a high value fuel, equivalent tocharcoal. Pulverising the char requiresvery little energy and after mixing thepowder with a suitable binder, it canbe converted either manually into ballshaped briquettes or extruded into cy-lindrical briquettes. Converting lightbiomass into char-briquettes is moreattractive as it leads to a charcoal-equivalent product, which is higher inenergy content compared to wood-equiv-alent biomass briquettes produced by pul-verisation followed by compaction.

We have developed a charringprocess that is especially suitable forhandling large quantities of loose bio-mass at a high speed, without break in

Vol. 24 - June 2001 7

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lindrical container (60 cm high with adiameter of 38 cm;) with lid, con-structed out of a mild steel sheet. Thebiomass (sugarcane residue in ourcase) to be charred is packed into theretorts.

The Charring ProcessTo start with, seven retorts are filled

with the sugarcane residue. The lids ofthe retorts are closed, and secured witha steel wire. The chimney is temporari-ly removed so that the retorts could beloaded into the oven from the top. Theretorts stand upside down in the oven,as shown in Figure 1(a). The gaps be-tween the retorts are filled up withsugarcane residue. The chimney is re-placed on the top of the oven, and thejoint between the chimney and theoven is sealed with mud packing. Thecombustion chamber of the oven belowthe grate is filled with residue and thefire is started. The ports used for in-serting the residue into the combustionchamber are closed by bricks.

As the hot air and flame rise upthrough the body of the oven, the heatis conducted to the residue inside theretorts. As there is no air for the resi-due to burnt, it gets charred, and thecombustible volatiles emitted in theprocess, come out into the oven as thelids of the retorts are not airtight. Thevolatiles burn in the oven, generatingmore heat for charring. While thecharring of one batch is in process,another set of seven retorts is filledwith sugarcane residue and kept readyfor loading into the oven. When allthe sugarcane residue in the retorts isconverted to char, the volatiles stopemanating into the oven, and the fireautomatically turns off. Now, thechimney is removed, the retorts aretaken out of the oven, and the nextbatch of retorts is lowered into it. Thechimney is placed on top of the oven,the combustion chamber is refilledwith residue, and the fire is startedagain, as before. In this manner, thekiln can be operated in continuousbatches.

The first seven retorts are emp-tied, and refilled with residue, whilethe charring of the second batch is inprogress. If the hot char comes in con-

tact with the air, it immediately catch-es fire. This can be avoided by eitheremptying the retorts in water, or byallowing the retorts to cool down be-fore removing the char. The char pro-duced can either be briquetted by us-ing any standard briquetting process,or sold as loose char, that the consum-er can use as required.

Economy of the ovenThe capital cost involved in fabri-

cating the chimney and the fourteenretorts is about Indian Rs.5000 (at thepresent exchange rate, 1 USD = IndianRs.46). Any ordinary steel workshopcan handle the fabrication work. Theoven is to be constructed on locationusing bricks and mud. It requires about400 bricks, costing about Rs. 600. Theconstruction is simple and does not re-quire the services of an expert mason.The construction of the oven as well asoperation of the kiln can be handledby two unskilled labourers. For suchlabourers, the daily wages for an eight-hour shift in India are Rs.100.

In this process, each retort holdsabout 3 kg of sugarcane residue andat the end of the charring run, yieldsabout 1 kg of char. Thus, one batch of7 retorts converts about 21 kg of sug-arcane residue into about 7 kg ofchar. An additional 10 kg of sugar-cane residue (8 kg below the grate, 2kg in the gaps between the retorts) is

required as fuel for firing the oven.Thus, each batch consumes about 31kg of sugarcane residue and yieldsabout 7 kg of char. The first batch re-quires about 2 hours, from the step offilling up the retorts with residue.Subsequent batches require about 1hour from the step of loading theoven with retorts. Thus, it is possibleto operate the oven for about 6 to 7

batches in an 8 hour shift, yielding40-50 kg of char. Considering the ur-gency on the part of the farmer to re-move the residue from his field, werecommend two shifts per day, result-ing into about 80 to 100 kg of char.

The AdvantagesThere are several advantages of the

charring system described here. First-ly, the same kiln can be used for char-ring any type of biomass, includingwoody biomass like stalks of cotton orpigeon pea, looped branches of treesetc. The amount of biomass consumed,and the char produced will be differ-ent for each type of biomass, depend-ing on its density, packing character-istics, calorific value, etc.

In most other charring systems,the volatiles emitted by the charringbiomass are either vented out or flaredup. The former situation leads to envi-ronmental pollution, whereas the sec-ond situation leads to a waste of usefulgaseous fuel. In the system described

8 Vol. 24 - June 2001

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extraction from the state’s forests. SriLanka has only about 23% of its forestcover left and it cannot afford to loseany more of it.

On the other hand, paddy husk dis-charged from rice mills, has also be-come a threat to the environment, es-pecially in rice producing areas,where it is frequently dumped in pub-lic places.

IntroductionIn Sri Lanka, firewood is being

used as a fuel in more than 90% ofbakeries and this fact has contributedto the felling of trees in a consider-able scale. Table 1 indicates the extentof biomass fuel use in various indus-tries in Sri Lanka.

Furthermore, some of the firewoodsupplied also originates from illegal

Table 1 - The use of biomass fuel for industries in Sri Lanka

Industry Amount of biomass fuel used ('000 Tons)/year

• Tea 455 (43.2%)

• Hotels and restaurants 164 (15.6%)

• Brick and Tile 150 (14.2%)

• Bakeries 99 (9.0%)

• Rubber 72 (6.8%)

• Coconut 51 (4.8%)

• Tobacco 13 (1.2%)

• Others 49 (4.7%

(Source : Forestry Master Plan of Sri Lanka - 1995)

here, both these negative aspects areeliminated, and therefore it is acleaner and more energy-efficientcharring process.

As the system operates on a con-tinuous batch process, the operatorhas great flexibility in constructingthe kiln. It can be a scaled-up ver-sion that can be a centrally locatedpermanent structure with the biom-ass being transported from other lo-cations. Alternatively, it can be ascaled-down version that can holdonly one or two retorts at a time,and can be taken from place toplace wherever the biomass is avail-able. The kiln described here can bedesignated as ‘semi-portable’ as itcan be completely dismantled, thechimney, the retorts and the brickscan be taken from one farm to oth-er, and re-erected within a day. Ineither case, the volume of biomassto be charred will decide the num-ber of batches to be processed.

The system, as we have developedit, relies on manual labour. Howeverthe nature of the system is such thatautomation of the operation is easilypossible. This is of particular rele-vance for constructing and operatinga large-scale system.

AcknowledgementsWe thank the Department of Sci-

ence and Technology, Governmentof India, for funding the preliminarywork on the charring technology.We are grateful to Dr. Yuri Yud-kevitch, St. Petersburg Federal For-est Technical Academy, Russia, andMr. Alex English, stoves researcher,Canada, for their valuable sugges-tions.

* Priadarshini Karve (author forcorrespondence), Department ofApplied Physics, Sinhgad Collegeof Engineering, Wadgaon budruk,Pune 411 041, Maharashtra, India.

** HY Mahajan & A.D. Karve, Ap-propriate Rural Technology Insti-tute (ARTI), 2nd Floor, ManineeApartments, Opposite Pure FoodsCo., Survey No. 13, Dhayarigaon,Pune 411 041, Maharashtra, India.

F E A T U R E

Pilot Project on the Introductionof Paddy Husk As an Alternativeto Firewood for the Operation ofBakeries S.D. ABAYAWARDANA*

A pilot project on the conversion five bakeries to be operated using paddy husk as

an alternative to fire wood in the Polonnaruwa District in Sri Lanka was launched

by the Integrated Development Association (IDEA), with the supports of Global

Environmental Facility (GEF), Small Grant Programme (SGP) of the UNDP.

Vol. 24 - June 2001 9

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The Pilot ProjectA pilot project to introduce paddy

husk operated bakeries was first initi-ated when information was receivedon a bakery that used oven technolo-gy fueled by paddy husk as an alter-native to fire wood. The technologywould have two advantages: it wouldreduce the incidence of tree felling aswell as solve the problem of accumu-lation of paddy husk to a considerableextent. With the above thought inmind, a visit was made to the bakeryto study the technology and its advan-tages.

The inventor of this technology isMr. Ekanayake Divulgane. His bakeryis situated in Dehiattakandiya in Am-para district, which is also a rice pro-ducing area. He owns a medium sizebakery and could accommodate 45trays at a time to bake 540 loaves ofbread. He has conducted many exper-iments over a period of five years be-

fore he perfected the technology. Mr.Divulgane has obtained patent rightsfor his technology but agreed to dis-seminate the technology as a serviceto the nation.

After discussions with Mr. Divul-gane, IDEA submitted a concept paper

to the GEF/SGP and the NationalSteering Committee (NSC). Theyagreed to provide funds for a pilotproject to convert wood fueled baker-ies to ones fueled by paddy husk. TheNSC was of the view that the projectwould contribute towards solving ofproblems associated with the lost offorest cover and paddy husk disposal.

A suitable project location wasthen decided in Polonnaruwa district.It is situated in the dry zone of SriLanka where most of the forests arelegally protected areas (Forest Re-serves, National Parks and Sanctuar-ies). The reduction of forest cover,which is mainly due to illegal fellingin this district, is a constant threat towildlife, especially the wild elephant.Polonnaruwa, a rice producing area,also has a problem in the disposal ofpaddy husk discharged from ricemills.

Baseline studyThe first activity of the project was

a base line study conducted in thePolonnaruwa district in order to de-termine:• the number of bakeries and rice

mills;• their sizes, capacities;• the amount of fire wood used by

bakeries;• the amount of paddy husk dis-

charged from the rice mills.The baseline study found that there

were 60 bakeries in Polonnaruwa dis-trict. Figure 1 indicates the types ofbakeries present in the Polonnaruwa

Figure 1 - Types of bakeries in Polonnaruwa District

LargeMedium

Small

27%

15%58%

Table 2 - Amount of paddy husk discharged by rice mills Polonnaruwa district *

Amount of rice husk (kg) Number of mills

• Less than 650 5

• Over 650 to 1300 5

• Over 1950 to 2600 15

• Over 1950 to 2600 10

• Over 2600 5

* this was determined by the sacks of rice husk discharged and one sack weighs on average 13 kgs

Figure 2 - Sources of firewood for bakeries in Polonnaruwa district

52%

33%

11%

4%Bought from

protected forest

Cut from

protected forest

From other state forest

Other means

1 0 Vol. 24 - June 2001

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district.Availability of fuel was also sur-

veyed based on the study on theamount of rice husk discharged by the60 rice mills found in Polonnaruwadistrict (Table 2).

The study also revealed that all thebakeries in Polonnaruwa district usefirewood as fuel. The extent of fire-wood consumption of the bakeries isindicated in Table 3.

The firewood is obtained from vari-ous sources: purchased from those en-gaged in illegal felling of tress in pro-tected forests; cut directly from pro-tected forests; from other state forests;and from other sources such as privatelands. A chart showing the sources offirewood used in bakery industry isshown in Figure 2.

Project ImplementationAfter the baseline study was con-

ducted, a workshop was later held for50 selected bakery owners within thedistrict to create awareness on the newoven technology fueled by paddyhusk. They were also taken on a fieldvisit to observe and inspect the opera-tion of Mr. Divulgane’s bakery. 94%of the bakery owners who attendedthe workshop expressed their willing-ness to convert their wood fueled bak-ery ovens to paddy husk fueled ovens.

The paddy husk oven introduced inthe pilot project

Description of the paddy huskDescription of the paddy huskDescription of the paddy huskDescription of the paddy huskDescription of the paddy huskovenovenovenovenoven

The basic technology consists of ahuller into which paddy husk is fedand an electric blower that blows pad-dy husk into the combustion chamber.In case of a power failure, two-wheeled hand tractor is used to powerthe blower. The floor and walls of thecombustion have also been furthermodified. Pipes are laid on the floorof the combustion chamber in order toevenly distribute the heat.

Operation of the ovenOperation of the ovenOperation of the ovenOperation of the ovenOperation of the ovenA little kerosene is sprayed on the

paddy husk layer deposited at the bot-tom of to assist the start of fire. Oper-ation usually starts at about 10.00 amwhen the fire is first started. In aboutone and a half hours the temperatureof the combustion chamber rises toabout 3500 C. Then it is allowed tocool down to 3000C before the traysare inserted. The operation proceedswith three shifts of bread baking fol-lowed by about 8 shifts of other bak-ery products such as buns, cup cakesetc. After the bakery products arebaked, the remaining heat is utilizedto dry other commodities such asgroundnuts, coriander etc. The opera-tion goes on till about mid night.

Economy of the ovenEconomy of the ovenEconomy of the ovenEconomy of the ovenEconomy of the ovenA bakery oven fueled by firewood

would require about 1.5 m3 of woodper day, costing around Rs. 600/=. Thecosts for firewood would be more ex-pensive in wood scarce areas.

For a paddy husk fueled oven, thepresent cost of operation is only aboutRs. 200/= per month for the electricityto power the motor. Mr. Divulganeuses a 3-horsepower motor for hisbakery. However, a 2-horsepower mo-tor would be adequate to run a blowerthat has new conversion features. Thiswill again reduce the electricity con-sumption of the motor. Apart fromthat, the paddy husk is delivered freeof charge by rice mill owners. About250 bags of paddy husk can be trans-ported in a medium sized lorry and

Five bakeries considered suitablefor conversion were selected out ofthose and three have been convertedthus far. The conversion in the othertwo bakeries will be completed by theend of June 2001. The cost to converta bakery oven is Rs. 50,000/= includ-ing the cost of equipment to be in-stalled. Out of this cost, 50% willhave to be borne by the project andthe other 50% by the bakery owner.

Table 3 - Amount of firewood used by bakeries (m3)

Amount per month No. of bakeries(m3)

2 to 4 -

Over 4 to 6 -

Over 6 to 8 1

Over 8 to 10 8

Over 10 to 12 10

Over 12 to 14 2

Over 14 to 16 15

Over 16 to 18 7

Over 18 to 20 5

Over 20 12

FIGURE 3. THE RICE HULL BREAD OVEN

Vol. 24 - June 2001 1 1

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The Sarai OvenR.M. SALUNKHE *PRIYADARSHINI KARVE (AUTHOR FOR CORRESPONDANCE)**

IntroductionAn oven operates on the principle

of using the energy source (electricity,fossil fuels, wood, etc.) to heat an en-closed space, within which the fooditems are kept. It is normally used forbaking, roasting, and grilling opera-tions.

A special appliance that has beentraditionally used for such operationsis called a steamer or a rice cooker,that uses the basic principle of anoven, with a slight modification - theheat is used for generating steamwithin the enclosed space in which thecooking vessels are placed.

There are various advantages of thesteamer or oven based approach tocooking. As the radiative and convec-tive heat loss from the cooking vesselsis reduced, the cooking process ismore energy efficient than cooking inpots placed on stoves. secondly, asteamer/oven allows food to be simul-

Abstract: Sarai oven is a multi-purpose and multi-fueled portable cooking device.

Its design and operation are described in detail.

taneously cooked in more than onepot. As the food items cook on low-to-medium heat and in closed vessels,the taste as well as the nutritional val-ue of the food is superior.

In this paper, we describe a stovedesign that is based on this principle.

The ICMIC stoveThe ICMIC stove was designed

through a systematic R&D effort sup-ported by the Government of India.However, it did not become widelypopular. Presently, its use is restrictedto parts of the state of West Bengal inIndia. It is basically a steamer-oventhat operates on coal or charcoal asfuel. In large parts of India, unleav-ened bread (roti, chapati, etc.) is themajor food item, and it cannot becooked using the ICMIC. As a result,even if people bought the ICMIC, theyhave to use a separate stove for roast-ing the bread as well as for operations

PHOTOGRAPH 1: DIFFERENT COMPONENTS OF SARAI OVEN: (FROM L TO R) OUTER JA-KET; FUEL HOLDER; COMBUSTION CHAMBER; STEAMING VESSEL WITH LID

about 18 bags are used per day.Each bag contains about 10 kgs. ofpaddy husk.

Project experiences and futureactions

Thus far, the only problem iden-tified was from an owner of a con-verted oven, who received com-plaints from his neighbour becausehis oven was emitting ash, whichlanded on the neighbour’s land.The problem was solved when thechimney was raised to a height of18 feet.

At the end of the project, aworkshop is planned in order to re-view and evaluate the pilot activi-ties. The workshop will involve theparticipation of bakery owners,members of the NSC, the Govern-ment and Non Government agen-cies from related fields. Such aworkshop will reveal informationneeded to determine projectachievements as well as to decidewhether it should be extended toother districts as well.

* SD Abayawardana, ProgrammeDirector, Integrated DevelopmentAssociation, 20 Hantana Place,Kandy, SRILANKA, Phone:94-8-23200/226 729, Fax:94-8-232517,email: idea@sltnet.lk

1 2 Vol. 24 - June 2001

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just about 2.5-3 mm between the wallsof the two. It has a wide rim at thetop, which seals up the annular space.The lid fits snugly into the open topof the steaming vessel.

The operationTo operate the stove, the fuel hold-

er, loaded with fuel, is inserted intothe combustion chamber. The outerjacket is fitted on to the chamber, andthe steaming vessel is inserted into it.About 200ml (a drinking glassful) ofwater is poured into the steaming ves-sel, and the cooking vessels arestacked in it, one on top of the other.The steaming vessel is closed with thelid and the fire is started.

The air required for combustion ofthe fuel enters from the holes at thebottom of the combustion chamberand is sucked into the fuel stackthrough the grate at the bottom of the

fuel holder. The hot gases and flamesemitted by the fire pass through theannular space between the outer jack-et and the steaming vessel, and comeout through the holes near the top ofthe outer jacket. The heat is conductedinto the steaming vessel through itsbottom and walls, and converts thewater inside into steam. The steamingvessel fills up with steam and thisgenerates sufficiently high tempera-ture within the cooking vessels tocook the food items. Steam cookinghas the advantage, that the substancesto be cooked are never heated beyond100 deg. C, and therefore they neverget charred. Because the fuel placed inthe burner is limited, the stove extin-guishes itself after a certain time.

If no water is placed in the steam-ing vessel, it can be used as an ordi-nary oven. For operations like frying,making unleavened bread, etc., theouter jacket can be detached from thecombustion chamber and the chambercan be used as an ordinary portablesingle pot stove.

The outer jacket and steaming ves-sel can also be used with an ordinarygas or kerosene stove, to increase thefuel use efficiency. It is also possibleto operate the stove using a smallelectric heating coil in the place ofthe fuel holder.

Quantitative informationThe steamer/oven can be made in a

variety of sizes as per requirement.The only critical design parameter isthe annular gap of 2.5-3 mm betweenthe outer jacket and the steaming ves-sel. For the oven shown in photograph2, the fuel holder can hold 100-1000 gsolid fuel (based on density), and thesteaming vessel can hold four cookingvessels about 15 cm in diameter andabout 6.5 cm in height. Each cookingvessel can hold about 250 gm of rice,pulses, cut vegetables, etc., or 350-400 gm of potatoes, eggs, etc.

If all the four vessels are used, it ispossible to cook enough food for afamily of 4-5 persons. The fuel re-quired for this purpose, is about 100 gof charcoal or char briquettes, or 150-200 g of wood chips. The cooking timeis about 30-35 min.

PHOTOGRAPH 2: THE FULLY ASSEMBLED SARAI OVEN

such as frying. Also, coal and charcoalare not easily available everywhere inthe country. These may have been themajor reasons for the limited accep-tance of the ICMIC. A need was there-fore felt to modify the basic ICMIC de-sign in such a way that (a) it would bepossible to detach the oven part fromthe combustion chamber so that thechamber can be used independently asan ordinary stove for other cookingoperations, and (b) it would be possi-ble to operate the stove with a widevariety of commonly available fuels/energy sources. These considerationsled to the development of a modifiedversion of the ICMIC, that we havenamed 'Sarai oven'.

The Sarai Oven: In the local language, the word

'sarai' means "the season of harvest"or "a period of prosperity". The basicdesign of the Sarai oven is identicalto that of the ICMIC. The four parts ofthe stove are shown in Photograph 1and the fully assembled stove isshown in Photograph 2. All the com-ponents of the stove are fabricated outof mild steel. The different compo-nents are described below.

(a) Combustion chamber: It is anopen ended mild steel cylinder, withan aluminium lining from inside. Thereis a door on the side, and a series ofholes along the periphery at the bot-tom. The holes serve as air inlets. Thereare two clamps on the side near the topfor holding the outer jacket.

(b) Fuel holder: This is a mild steelcylinder with an open top and a castiron grate at the bottom. Solid fuel inthe form of wood chips, coal, char-coal, char- or biomass briquettes, etc.,is placed in the holder, which in turnis placed inside the combustion cham-ber through its side door.

(c) Outer jacket: It is an open end-ed cylinder that fits on top of thecombustion chamber. There are tworows of holes circumscribing the cyl-inder near the top (see Photograph2).

(d) Steaming vessel with lid: Thesteaming vessel is a cylindrical vesselthat can be inserted into the outerjacket, leaving an annular space of

Vol. 24 - June 2001 1 3

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CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO GLOWGlow is a forum for exchange of experiences and ideas on cookstoves and related issues.

Glow wants to share your work and discoveries with our readers. Let us know about yourwork as well as the obstacles you face. Each edition of Glow is published with a specifictheme. However, Glow welcomes contributions on thematic as well non-thematic articles.Send us also your news items, books, review materials, announcements and pictures forpublication in Glow.

VOL. 25, SEPTEMBER 2001: INCORPORATION OF GENDER IN ICS

Benefits to women’s development have been cited in favor of improved cookstove (ICS):reduced cooking and fuel collection time; reduced negative health impacts caused bysmoke; and provide women the opportunity to become primary actors in a developmentproject. Unfortunately, adoption of ICS is far less than expected. This is mainly caused by thefact that in many ICS programmes the specific needs of the users (mostly women) were nottaken into account in the formulation of the planning and solutions. In many cases theimproved cookstove introduced is a new piece of equipment and new ways of cooking andin most cases does not serve the need of their cooking habit and food type. On the otherhand, there have been reports of more successful ICS programs because the users wereinvolved in all stages of the formulation of the solutions. In other words had there been agender approach applied, in which all involved are taken into account in the programformulation, a more successful result may be expected. Yet, in the field of ICS, little atten-tion has been given in the integration of gender in ICS program.

For this volume of Glow, we are calling for submissions of case studies and articles ongender incorporation in stove programs.

Information to be collected (this should serve as a guideline for submissions):a) Conditions of the location (the environment, economic, livelihood, tradition especially

those related to cooking and fuel) where a program is implemented;b) Activities and division of labour in fuel supply (who is responsible to collect fuel, women,

children, men, young women, etc);c) Fuel source, fuel types, how it is obtained (free, commercialized, fuel availability/

sustainability);d) Activities and division of labour in cooking activities;e) Process of introduction and dissemination of ICS to the community (participatory, top

down);f) Process of design formulation , provide the technical design (who are consulted, when,

how are women and men involved in the ICS programme, from start to implementationand thereafter)

g) ICS dissemination strategy (fully subsidized, owner built, cadres, market, etc)h) Problems encountered and how are they solvedi) Degree of success and or failure (adoption rate, are the stove being used, are there

growth in the number of users, users opinion, sustainability, have second or third stovebeing used?)

j) Other relevant information such as availability of local institution or group, influentialleaders, etc.

SUBMISSION OF ARTICLES

Articles can be submitted as typescripts, on 3.5 floppy disk (MS. Word) or by e-mail.Please provide photos and other illustrations. Articles and correspondence should be ad-dressed to:

The ARECOP Secretariat (Glow Article)JL. Kaliurang Km.7, Gg. Jurugsari IV/19, PO BOX 19 YKBS, Yogyakarta 55281, IndonesiaOr e mailed to: arecop@yogya.wasantara.net.idPlease put on the subject line “Glow article”

The ARECOP Secretariat is providing US$100 remuneration for every thematic articlepublished in Glow and US$50 for non thematic article.

Present statusThe oven is now being promoted in

Maharashtra and neighbouring states.The selling price has been fixed atRs.450/-, i.e., slightly less than US$10.This is affordable by the middle in-come group in this region of thecountry. Further R&D work is on toreduce the fabrication cost and to in-crease the durability, by using differ-ent materials other than mild steel.

AcknowledgementsThe authors are grateful to the

Ministry of Non-conventional EnergySources, Government of India for fi-nancial assistance, under the NationalProgramme on Improved Chulha. Thehelp of Mr. R.D. Hanbar, Senior Scien-tific Officer, and other members of theARTI Technical Back-up Support Unitunder NPIC is duely acknowledged.We are also thankful to Dr. A.D. Karve,President, ARTI, for discussions andvaluable suggestions.

* R.M. Salunkhe, Appropriate RuralTechnology Institute (ARTI), 2nd Floor,Maninee Apartments, S. No.13, Dha-yarigaon, Pune 411041, India

** Priyadarshini Karve, Departmentof Applied Physics, Sinhagad Collegeof Engineering (SCOE), Wadgaon bu-druk, Pune 411041, India

1 4 Vol. 24 - June 2001

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Local Inputs to Improved StoveDevelopmentDO DUCK KHOI*

When the project began in 1998,the vast majority of people living inthe three target communes were usingtraditional cooking techniques, suit-able perhaps to the migrant life styleof upland groups in the past. As thesegroups have settled in more perma-nent landholdings and as fuel resourc-es have become increasingly scarce,their cooking techniques are no long-er appropriate. However, early effortsto introduce new cooking techniques,have been unsuccessful.

In the early stages of implementa-tion, the Integrated Family Health andFood Security project supported thecosts of bringing national cookstoveexperts to the project sites in an effortto transfer basic knowledge on cook-stoves to target beneficiaries. Howev-er, initial stove models introduced didnot interest the villagers. Many com-plained that the costs were too highand that the stoves were too heavy fortypical wooden stilt houses that the

Thai ethnic groups build. In addition,the new stoves did not take into con-sideration many traditional uses offire in the household such as for keep-ing warm in the winter and for dryingand preserving agriculture products.Further, the stoves did not take intoconsideration the types of cookingutensils, pots and pans used by thetarget group. In the end, we found thatthere was better acceptance of the newstove technology among those Thaiethnic groups closely assimilated tothe Kinh (Vietnam’s major ethnicgroup) lifestyle, much more so thangroups living in more traditional Thaicultural settings.

As a follow-up to the first cook-stove training course and dissemina-tion activities, the project supported aparticipatory learning and action(PLA) process for local project staff.The stated objective of this activitywas to overcome target groups’ resis-tance to new cookstove technologies.

This process led to the development ofa diverse set of cookstoves designsthat employed not only theories onefficient cookstove design but alsotook into consideration local needsand customs. The majority of designadaptations took place through stovebuilding workshops involving targetbeneficiaries and facilitated by expertsand local builders. Adaptations madecan be summarised as follows:

1. Decreased Costs – Typicallythrough the use of local materials (i.e.iron, brick, sandy soil, soil mixedwith lime) the local builders made sig-nificant cuts in costs with no signifi-cant cut in fuel efficiency. Cost is per-haps the main reason for the resis-tance in Quy Hop due to high levelsof poverty among Thai ethnic minori-ties.

2. Improved Suitability – Localbuilders developed a number of dif-ferent configurations of the stovebased on individual demands. For in-

From 1998 to 2000, Population and Development International (PDI) – in partnership with the Vietnam Women’s Union –

implemented the project, the Integrated Family Health and Food Security. The project targeted 3 mountainous communes of

Quy Hop district in Nghe An Province, in which there are high concentrations of Thai ethnic minorities. The principal

objectives of the project were to improve the health of women and children in this area, as well as to raise awareness with

regard to the importance of environmental conservation. Cross-sector activities of this project related to the project objectives

included the introduction of fuel-efficient, smokeless stoves. Implementation of this activity clearly demonstrated that

successful introduction of new cookstove technologies among Thai minorities in Quy Hop district required the active partic-

ipation of target populations during the design and construction phase.

Vol. 24 - June 2001 1 5

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stance, the builders developed stoveswith funnel-shaped potholes, to en-able the use of pots and pans of dif-ferent sizes. Similarly, the designersexperimented with smoke outlet de-signs such that villagers could makeuse of the smoke when preservingfoods. Another adaptation is to varythe height of the stove depending onthe size of fuel wood used. Addition-ally, builders developed a variety ofstoves of different shapes and sizes,including those lighter stoves thatcould be moved about easily.

3. Improved Efficiency – Therewere adaptations made to raise thefuel closer to the pothole.

In addition to building techniques,project staff also learned that cook-stove acceptance can improve whenone considers common needs. For in-stance, increasing disposable incometo purchase blankets at a minimal costcan decrease a family’s need to burnfires throughout the day and nightduring the winter months. Or, addingadditional pillars to the house struc-ture can provide the support neces-sary for a cookstove.

Project staff members also recogn-ised the importance of social market-ing aspects in cookstove introduction.To create a demand, target beneficia-ries must clearly understand the netbenefit of fuel savings (time and mon-

CALL FORCONTRIBUTIONS

TO GLOWVOL. 26, DECEMBER 2001:INDIGENEOUS KNOWLEDGE

In this volume of Glow, we are re-questing articles on indigenous knowl-edge in industrial/institutional as wellas in household stoves and in fuel con-serving practices.

Indigenous knowledge to be coveredcould be classified as follows:• Knowledge regarding stove materials

and/or on specific applications of ma-terial/s

• Knowledge on specific design/con-struction of stove or stove parts

• Knowledge on stove building methods• Knowledge on fuel conservation prac-

tices or other beneficial fuel manage-ment practices

AN IMPROVED COOKSTOVE RESULTED FROM THE PARTICIPATORY DESIGN PROCESS

ey). It is equally important to ensureadequate locally supplied buildingmaterials and skilled artisans.

By December 2000, the project hadsupported the construction of 660 fuelefficient, smokeless cookstoves for thepoorest of target beneficiary house-holds, with the project supporting thecosts of cement, iron, and smoke-stacks. Beneficiaries receiving suchsupport provided labour, sand andother building materials. We also ob-served that at least 150 other house-holds in target areas have alreadybuilt or were building similarly de-signed cookstoves without projectsupport. It also appears that othercommunes in the district have takenan interest in the activity and have ar-ranged for local artisans to share theirdesigns.

The direct impact of improvedcookstoves is difficult to measure.Based on our findings from theproject’s participatory assessment in1998, wood is the principal source offuel in these Thai ethnic villages. 80 –90% of the wood gathered was usedfor cooking. Efficiency improvementsvary from 30% - 50% with improvedcookstoves, which may translate intosignificant reductions in wood ex-tracted from the forest. One shouldalso consider the savings in time andhassle in collecting wood or perhaps

the economic opportunity villagershave, for example through selling ex-cess fuel.

Regardless of how one calculatesthe net benefit, beneficiaries have pro-vided extremely favourable feedbackon the project’s cookstove activities.It could be generally assumed that lo-cals will adapt the improved stovesand that such stoves will gradually re-place traditional cooking methods inthe three communes within three tofive years time.

Such achievements would not havebeen possible without the use of par-ticipatory processes that involved tar-get beneficiaries in the design andconstruction of cookstoves.

* Do Duck Khoi, Population Develop-ment International, Tang 3- 42 LoDuc, Hanoi, VietnamTel: (84-4) 978 2514/15Fax: (84-4) 978 2506Email : pdihanoi@fpt.vn

R E S O U R C E S

Ecologically Sound Integrated Re-gional Energy PlanningY.V. Ramachandra (Indian Institute of Science).2000. 348 pp. ISBN 1-56072-876-0. PriceUS$95.

The main objective of this book is to devel-op an “Ecologically Sound Integrated EnergyPlan” at district level to arrive at an optimalmix of energy sources that can meet the en-ergy demand in a region by keeping in viewdevelopment priorities of the region. This bookspresents a conceptual design for energy sys-tems which could meet demand of all sectorsin a region. The proposed design in principle,supplies enough energy for sustainable de-velopment of a region. The plan proposed isbased on Decision Support System approach(DSS) and is flexible, adaptable and ecologi-cally sound.

Contact : Nova Science Publishers227 Main Street, Suite 100, Huntington, NY11743-6907Tel : 631-424-6682, Fax: 631-424-4666E. mail: Novascience@Earthlink.nethttp://www.nexusworld.com/nova

Measuring Successes and Setbacks– How to Monitor and EvaluateHousehold Energy Projects.HEP (Household Energy Programme), ITDG (In-termediate Technology Development Group),FWD (Foundation for Woodstove Dissemina-tion). 1996, 56 pp.

Based on experiences from 12 projectsin Asia, Africa and Central America, HEP,ITDG and FWD, developed the manual formonitoring and evaluation (M&E) of house-hold energy programs. The main aim of thisbook is to provide ideas and advice on howto go about monitoring household energyprograms. The handbook is divided into twodistinct sections; the first, a general guide-line on planning monitoring and evalua-tion; the next on how to conduct monitor-ing and evaluation activities.

Contact :Intermediate Technology Development GroupC/o: Peter YoungMyson House, Railway Terrace, Rugby, CV213HTUnited KingdomPhone: 0788-560631, Fax: 0788-5402 70

Commercial production of energy-efficient biomass stoves for thecommercial and institutional sector.Manual for producers, promotersand usersEnergy for Sustainable Development Limited.1999. 42 pp

Drawing experiences from several EastAfrican countries, the manual presents anoverview of an approach in conducting insti-tutional and industrial stove commercializa-tion programs. The manual guides readers onwhat activities should be undertaken, whyand how the activities should be conductedand which stakeholders should be involved.

Contact :Contact :Contact :Contact :Contact :Deborah Fox (Office Manager)ESD Limited, Overmoor Farm, Neston,CORSHAM, Wiltshire, SN13 9TZemail: deborah@esd.co.ukTel: +44 1225 816821Fax: +44 1225 812103Download it for free in PDF format from:http://www.esd.co.uk

Publications

Journey to Foreverhttp://journeytoforever.org/at_woodfire.html(verified 1st June, 2001).

This web site contains many usefuland interesting links to web sites anddocuments related to improved stovesand biomass energy.

Biomass Cooking Stoveshttp://www.ikweb.com/enuff/public_html/Stoves.html (Verified 1st June, 2001).

This page exists to help people involvedin the development of a better stove forcooking with biomass fuels in developingregions. It has links to archive on stovemailing list, a mailing list which facilitatesdiscussions on stoves and issues throughinternet. The site also contains papers writ-ten by members of the stove mailing list.Some of the documents can be download-ed.

Internet Resources Event

International Conference on Energy and Quality of Life – Policy di-rections for the Millenium 29 November-1 December 2001.

TOPICS AND SUBTHEMES• Energy end uses, lifestyle, standard of living and quality of life• Fuels, kitchen design, health, indoor and outdoor air quality• Renewable energy generation and use, technologies and impact on natural

resources• Energy, housing, environment and sustainable development• Energy and gender issues• Energy and technologies for lighting, in residential and non-residential buildings• Energy auditing and retrofits• Energy education for sustainable development• Policy directions and global actions.

Contact : Prof. Rachel George, Ms. Marina Z, Dr. Neena JajuConference Secretariat=Technical Backup Support Unit – NPICHome Managemewnt Department, Faculty of Home Science,The Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara 390 003, Gujarat India,Ph: 91-265-794864=Fax: 91-265-794864