[Stoves] Stoves Digest, Vol 27, Issue 20

[Philip Lloyd]

>  On 11/09/2012 08:52 AM, Paul Anderson wrote:
>
> Dear David and Crispin,
>
> And where the wages are less than $100 per month (and some of that 
> money is for a reasonable meal during the work day), the labor 
> component is almost negligible compared to the costs of new (not scrap)
sheet metal.
>
> When the stove is ceramic/fired clay, the clay can be cheap but there are
> the costs of firing it and then transporting it.   So the labor still adds
> only a relatively low amount to the stove.
>
> Can these low-income workers (yes, they have a job and they are better off
> than those without any work) afford a $25 stove?   That would be a week of
> wages.
>
> Would any of us who live in the affluent societies pay one week of wages
> for a stove?   That might depend on your income!!!    And we have
> discretionary money far above the money needed for food and lodging.
>
> Paul
>
>
> In the USA, many stoves cost between $400 and $2,000 (US dollars), and 
> the mean seems to be about $1,000.  That implies $1,500 in income 
> before taxes.  Which implies an average income of $78,000 annually or 
> $6,500 per month if a stove is one week's income.  While I feel this 
> is high, it is pretty close, 1 week's income for a stove is not
unbelievable.
>
> Yes, those of us who live in an affluent society DO pay 1 week's 
> income for a stove, and then pay a fraction of that every month for 
> fuel or energy to run it.
>
> Dave  
Dear Paul, Dave and others who have contributed to this interesting
discussion

I found extremely poor people in South Africa, <$100 per household per month
(mainly State assistance), keen to pay $500 and upwards for a coal-burning
stove (well, actually, originally designed as a wood-burning stove but
dragged into use for coal).  Cast iron, fireclay lined, with a chimney and
dampers to control air flow, three or four spaces for pots closed with cast
iron circles when not in use, and an oven for baking. Many had recently come
from rural farms to town, and were living in temporary homes built of sheet
iron and found materials. The stove was their first major investment, and
there was a local microfinance system via the coal merchants enabling them
to purchase it. 

They were not interested in cheap cookstoves!  The $500+ stove had come to
represent social status, as well as meeting a wide variety of household
needs, cooking, water heating, garbage disposal, space heating, and a social
focus to the home that even neighbours could come and share.  There was a
flourishing trade in second-hand stoves and in spare parts, particularly
grates and chimney pieces. Some people had small businesses baking bread for
stoveless neighbours, or making jam, or even running play schools on really
cold winter days when other homes were really too cold for infants.

I think the lesson is clear - if you just focus on cooking, you may be
missing something. The first criterion must be to meet people's needs, and
it may be much more than cooking. Some stove designs even miss the essential
demand for simmering, so they fail the very first test of acceptability -
you can't even use them for cooking. Yes, cost is a factor, but not
necessarily a driver.

Hope that helps.

Best regards to all

Philip Lloyd