[Stoves] Country by Country Project List?

[Xavier Brandao]

Erin,

Thanks for your message. Since I discovered HEDON database, I think we do
not need anymore to build a database from scratch, it already exists and is
pretty good.

I think we could continue to give opinion, and even help HEDON people if
they agree, to enrich and improve the database. Perhaps the actions would be
to:
- add new useful categories of info, like the ones you mentionned
- add new info, within the new and old categories
- update information, maybe by asking a participative updating from
designers and project leaders, like an email remembering them to update
every 6 or 10 months, I don't know. I guess HEDON people already have a way
to do it.
- make the database more visible: on HEDON website, but also display it on
the Global Alliance site, the bioenergylist...

But soon raises the question: how to do it efficiently, without spending too
much time and money, and who will do it and pay for it?

Here I think Jan got a point, the Global Alliance is apparently defining its
prerogatives, is willing to be an organisation at the forefront of the stove
field. It is probable they can dedicate a substantial budget to run the
database, and a team of IT people. On the other hand, the team at HEDON is
experienced with stoves. And like you don't market stoves like you market
other products, I guess you don't organise stove info when you don't know
about them. So maybe the team of fresh IT people newly recruted by the
Global Alliance could be managed by an experienced stover from HEDON or
bioenergylist. But I don't see any reason why the Global Alliance couldn't
do the job.
And since taking care of a database is an ambitious project, it is a good
thing an organisation with both money and paid people would be in charge of
the task.

So the wheel should not be reinvented, but made more roundish. Maybe the
database work could be handed out to the Global Alliance. And HEDON and
bioenergylist would keep showing a link to it on their respective websites.
The Global Alliance should also link to the bioenergylist, since in my
opinion, we have here another database, a database of news on stoves and
interesting and high-level discussions on technical aspects.

What is the opinion of the HEDON people on that?

As for me I have limited IT knowledge and I lack money, but well, I am
willing to help in any way I can.

Cheers,

Xavier 


-----Original Message-----

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Message: 1
Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 12:04:08 -0700
From: "Erin Rasmussen" <erin at trmiles.com>
To: "'Discussion of biomass cooking stoves'"
	<stoves at lists.bioenergylists.org>
Subject: Re: [Stoves] Country by Country Project List?
Message-ID: <00ca01cc01e9$3986e010$ac94a030$@com>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

Hi Xavier,

I'm excited by your energy. There's a lot of this information available on
the web, but it would be nice to have it collected - maybe even linked to a
map. A google map linking to the various stoves projects would be a  neat
idea, and perhaps swiftly out-dated but interesting.

Your spreadsheet was fine, but didn't actually outline the data in a way
that would allow one to build a database. 

What type of information would be important to keep track of? 
City, Country, Project Participants, Sponsoring Organizations, Contact
information for the Participants and Sponsors, then there's the information
about the stoves themselves. Do you want to repeat the wheel on a stoves
database? or do you want to simply link to existing information? If you'd
like to build your own database it's good to have pictures, stove name,
stove promoter, designer, funder, project information, stove information,
detailed plans, testing results, notes for comments, updates and emissions
and other testing results.

(The project grows big rather quickly, but help is always appreciated by
pretty much everyone who is already trying to tackle it, including us). 

I think the google maps, or some other map type idea is cool, and relatively
simple to update. You've got to have someone with the motivation to
consistently do it, and a paycheck is a pretty good way to do that. (I guess
there's always fame and glory -- oh sarcasm does NOT work in email). 

If anyone would like to pitch in and help with the stoves web site, or the
associated costs, we're pretty happy to put you to work and or use the money
to defray the cost of the server and the maintenance.

Thanks!

Erin Rasmussen
Stoves List Technical gal and devoted web monkey
erin at trmiles.com




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Message: 4
From: stoves-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org
[mailto:stoves-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org] On Behalf Of Jan Bianchi
Sent: Sunday, April 24, 2011 10:06 AM
To: 'Discussion of biomass cooking stoves'
Subject: Re: [Stoves] Country by Country Project List?

Xavier, Frank, Tom, Erin and Karabi

I've been away from internet access for several days, but it looks like more
interest in a broader list is building.

Since I first asked about a country by country list, I learned about the
HEDON list which I agree has a lot of good information on it. Of course I
already knew about the bioenergylists.org and the list of PCIA partners, so
there are several models out there, which contain a lot of information,
although not always current.  I'm guessing this idea has been tried over the
years by several people and the effort to keep the lists current and
complete has proven overwhelming and too costly.  

I know that Xavier thinks this is a second tier project, but I've been most
curious about advice we've received to not expect any quick action from the
Global Alliance.  I don't think I expect quick action, but I'd like to know
why there doesn't seem to be any consensus that that's the place to focus
on.  I know nothing about the politics of the Global Alliance and I doubt
that this listserve is a good venue to explore them. If people think one of
the existing lists is a better place to focus, I think that would be fine.

But seriously, why not sit down with the Alliance's IT people, presuming
there are such people, and ask what their plans are, whether they think this
project is within their scope of work, or whether they'd prefer to
contribute to and/or link to an existing program like HEDON's or
bioenergylists.org.  No point in getting focused on them if they don't
intend to take up the challenge.  And there may be a good reason for them
not to, I just haven't heard it.  Someone must know them well enough to make
an introduction.  If not, then maybe we should just focus on helping
bioenergylists and/or HEDON continue to improve their lists.  I don't think
we want to reinvent the wheel.

Jan