Hearthlist Digest #250 - Tuesday, January 5, 1999 Re: 01/04/99 "THE YEAR AHEAD" by "by way of Craig Issod" <[email protected]> Stoves in Honduras by "John Gulland" <[email protected]>
(back) Subject: Re: 01/04/99 "THE YEAR AHEAD" From: [email protected] (by way of Craig Issod) Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 10:06:21 -0500 (EST) My predictions are more consolidations of mfgs,dists,and rtlrs. More little guys will diverisfy to servive--as always. Alternative Energy Retailer will become a thicker magazine as they (kicking and screaming) will also diverisfy beyond hearth products.HVAC dealers will make some in-roads,but only where they work at it. The anti-vent-free contigent of our industry will work much harder for limited sales growth. The NBBQA (National Barbecue Association) will finally accept gas as a heat source for barbecuing. And finally ,Craig will expand Buddha's vocabulary beyond, "avoid error".
(back) Subject: Stoves in Honduras From: "John Gulland" <[email protected]> (by way of Craig Issod) Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 10:07:39 -0500 (EST) Happy new year everyone. Those of you who were not buried by other priorities two months ago might have seen my post about the situation in Central America after Hurricane Mitch. It highlighted the importance of ensuring that improved cooking stoves are installed in the houses built to replace those destroyed. The traditional cooking stoves are open and unvented, which leads to serious health and other problems. Improved stoves are closed and vented. There have been some developments since that post was made in early November. Wendy and I traveled to Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras and I delivered a workshop on chimney physics to a group of people from all over the country who work on forestry and/or improved woodburning programs. A record of that visit is posted here: http://www.wood-heat.com/prointro.htm I hope you will take a few minutes to go there and read the report. The agency I volunteered for is Prole�a, a non-profit, non-governmental group headquartered in Tegucigalpa that also maintains an office in Managua, Nicaragua. Having met the small staff and several of the volunteer board members of Prole�a, I am impressed the caliber of people it attracts and its ability to make things happen. Although Prole�a promotes improved stoves, which really are a big improvement, there are still questions about their efficiency and the fact that the smoke might just be exported outside the house to pollute the community. There is little known about what makes these stoves tick, so it is not possible to maximize their performance through changes in design or user inputs. High on Prole�a's wish-list is a modest laboratory where they can begin to build a knowledge base about the stoves they promote. It occurred to me that these folks are at about the stage with their stoves' development as we were with ours in 1980. Since these improved stoves can be put in place for as little as US$25, the materials and technologies we use for our stoves and chimneys are not directly transferable. But over the years we, as an industry, have developed a vast body of knowledge about how to use laboratory and field testing as development tools for woodburning technology. A valuable store of experience resides in the minds of laboratory and product development people, as well as the practical knowledge of people in all other sectors of the industry. I think that with relatively modest investments of time and resources, our industry could dramatically shorten the stove development learning curve and make a meaningful contribution to a region that could really use our help. Having made no plans beyond what is stated here, I am looking for interested people who would like to collaborate on this project. Off top of my head, I would suggest there might be a number of things to be considered: * enter into an email dialogue with Prole�a to learn more about their circumstances, objectives and capabilities * discuss possible activities like developing an appropriate test protocol, fuel load design, and documentation system * work with Prole�a to develop cost estimates for facilities, instrumentation, staffing and staff training * investigate integrating this work with that of international funding agencies working in Central America * enlist the support of an agency within or peripheral to the hearth products industry willing to coordinate the industry's efforts on this project in terms of administration and communications And so on. There is much to do and a range of different skills are needed. If you are interested in joining with me to make a direct contribution to the recovery in Central America, I would like to hear from you. Best wishes for the new year. Regards, John This is for business: http://www.gulland.ca/ This is for pleasure: http://www.wood-heat.com/