[Stoves] Improved Stoves

[SAYoung at sandiegozoo.org]

Hello sirs! 

My name is Samantha and I work for the San Diego Zoo Institute for
Conservation Research, in Conservation Education. For about 2.5 years, I've
been working on a community-based conservation project in rural northwestern
Peru (Lambayeque region, specifically out of the town of Batan Grande), in
support of an Andean bear conservation project. I heard about your Improved
Stoves project from the article in Conservation Magazine. 

One of our interests lies in reducing the amount of firewood used by locals
for cooking. We are exploring a fuel efficient stove popular in Peru, called
a Cocina Mejorada. It is somewhat easy to make and from locally available
materials. However, as I understand it, it only reduces the amount of
firewood by about half, but still requires wood. I am definitely interested
in exploring TLUD stoves and the like that use different types of biomass
(lots of corn and cows in the area), but I have zero experience in
engineering or stove design.  

I'd love to learn more about what you've done, especially Stove Camp. Are
you at all interested (or do you know someone who is interested) in training
locals in Peru to build and use these types of stoves? 

Thanks for your insight! 

Cheers,
Samantha
---
Samantha Young, MS
Conservation Education
San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research
760-747-8702 ext. 5758
SAYoung at sandiegozoo.org

"I never saw a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though they liked
it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do."     --John
Muir