[Stoves] ETHOS program growing firewood

[Cookswell Jikos]

Dear Bob,

That is a very interesting point of view, what if people did not eat cooked
food! Funny enough I always laugh with friends about refusing to eat sushi
on the grounds that its bad for business!

On a more serious note, at least here in East Africa, the practice of
conservation agriculture, agro-forestry and silviopastoralism is gaining
traction and more rural farmers are choosing to utilize their land in a
more intensive multi-cop way than pure mono-crops on every square inch.
Things like vertical integration of multiple food, fuel and fodder crops,
alley cropping, windbreaks and fenceline non-woodlot forests already
provide a large source of Kenya's woodfuel supply.

I am wondering how these sources of woodfuel and other alternative biomass
(maize cobs, coconuts etc) feedstock, especially for 'lumpwood' charcoal
production can have their efficiencies and life cycle analysis made more
conducive to household energy security.

As it is, we will need to plant more trees anyway for soil retention, water
cycle services, timber, posts etc.. why not encourage stove users to invest
in future energy sources. I know for a fact that there are good people in
the Kenyan Govt trying to do this as much as possible, but with a
staggering woodfuel deficit, they could use private sector help. Besides,
economically viable centralized biomass energy production would also be an
extremely difficult thing to do in our current political climate.

And in regards to the social aspect of humans preferring to eat cooked
food, I am not sure if that will change on a global scale anytime soon, and
if it does and we have encouraged more forestry then at least people can
pick raw nuts and fruits to eat in the shade.

I hope this helps explain why I am keen on advocating for stove makers to
at least consider the fuels side of the equation.

All the best,

Teddy


*Cookswell Jikos*
www.cookswell.co.ke
www.facebook.com/CookswellJikos
www.kenyacharcoal.blogspot.com
Mobile: +254 700 380 009
Mobile: +254 700 905 913
P.O. Box 1433, Nairobi 00606, Kenya








On Thu, Nov 28, 2013 at 2:39 PM, <rbtvl at aol.com> wrote:

> I think we should invite a plant physiologist to come to ETHOS to explain
> why  we should not focus on getting people to grow their own fuel.   Plants
> are living things. In the first place they are not very efficient at all in
> catching the energy in sun light.  But what they do catch they put mostly
> into metabolism and reproduction.   Like us animals.  That is why we eat
> seeds.   They are loaded with energy that the plant put there for their
> young to use until the little ones can photosynthesize for themselves.
> Mammals use the mother's milk   Plants use their seeds.  (Some animals, not
> mammals, use eggs for reproduction.  So we eat eggs.)
>
> If you are rural and poor and have a little land and sufficient water, you
> will almost certainly want to grow food itself rather than fire wood.
> no?  Fire wood is very demanding of land area.   You can be clever and
> minimize it. This species that species.    but it is land expensive.
> Because the part of the plant you burn for fuel is not important to the
> plant, except to support its leaves.  so the  plant puts minimal energy
> there.
>
> If growing fuel wood is going to be taken seriously, it should be a
> government task.  Local or national  government.   Centralize it.   Do it
> big and well on land that individual families don't need to grow food
> itself.  do it on land that is difficult to use for other things.  On the
> sides of hills.  someplace useless.  someplace rocky.  Make it a campaign
> in the Global Alliance's "enabling environment".
>
> Funny, but the problem is that people cook so much.   What we need are
> more species of plants and animals that produce parts that we could find
> nourishing and tasty and desirable without cooking at all.   Damn it.   Why
> do we have to heat up food so much?   Maybe soak the food in some liquid
> like fruit juice or spices some natural acid for all day and then serve
> it.   I know cooking has a very significant role in make food culturally
> and physiologically acceptable.   But If only we could find more foods that
> were good for us, culturally and physiologically, but eaten raw.  That
> would be real stove progress.  I personally like to eat almost all
> vegetables raw.   even beans and corn.  I don't know if I am throwing away
> a lot of their nutrition, though.
>
> Bob Lange    Maasai stoves and solar.
>
>
>
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