[Stoves] Response to Ron (about Leaping)- role of stove anthropologists in empowering stove users/producers to form & ask own questions

[Bond, Tami C]

Dear Ron and all:

I take Cecil’s answer differently. I think it is valuable.

Questionnaires are developed by people who think they know what the question is. They are hammers which are useful if you are confident that the house must next be built by nailing rather than sawing or painting, and you must also be confident that the task at hand is building a house rather than constructing a fortifying wall or making dinner.

The discipline of anthropology and the practice of ethnography in particular (in my limited engineer’s understanding) employs observation rather than probing with a defined tool.

I think that Cecil is saying that more people should learn to listen. I agree.

Tami




On May 27, 2017, at 5:49 AM, Ronal W. Larson <rongretlarson at comcast.net<mailto:rongretlarson at comcast.net>> wrote:

Cecil, list,  Crispin:

My conclusion on whether any stove-related questionnaires or reports by you are available is:  “No”.

Ron

On May 25, 2017, at 11:28 PM, Cecil Cook <cec1863 at gmail.com<mailto:cec1863 at gmail.com>> wrote:

Dear Ron and list,

Something went wrong with my post to the bio-energy list. Here it is cleaned up. Excuse me!

I do not typically use questionnaires when I work because I find that they tend to generate false data which often  ‎does not tell us about what stove users and operators hold dear to their hearts. So anthropologists do their best to observe the behavior of stove users while operating their traditional stoves to heat their homes, cook food and perform other kinds of income generating work. My role is not one of asking questions. My role is to figure out what questions are foremost in the minds of the stove operators and buyers and to gradually assemble an overview of what the stove using/buying public  perceive to be important, what they most appreciate about their stoves or - what is the hierarchy of values which guide their judgments about good or bad stoves.

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