[Stoves] News: National Geographic on promotion of gas stoves over improved woodstoves - in Guatemala

[Xavier Brandao]

Dear Gordon,

 

I can understand some on the Stove List are not so interested in the conversations on protocols and metrics.

 

I am myself an implementer and not a researcher. This is what I have been doing the previous years, working on businesses and projects in India, Benin, Haiti, Congo. And believe me, I’d also rather be working on that now, even on developing and manufacturing new models, than discussing protocols.

My end objectives are the same as you, to make a positive impact against « the continued destruction of the environment - both human and natural. ». Actually anyone speaking on this List have the same end objectives.

 

Yet the single most important problem getting in the way to success was developping designs that were both clean and adapted to local conditions. The problem getting in the way of that was unreliable testing. Stoves performing great in the lab, then they started to smoke and make soot when tested in users homes. Then back to the lab, more tweaking, back to people’s homes, still not working, back to the lab, we try older designs that we had used in the past, trying to understand what went wrong. Back and forth, back and forth, while being in the fog, nor being really sure about what made the design work then and not now.

 

You cannot build a strong building on weak foundations.

 

You need testing protocols that will allow you to make steady progress, in iterative design cycles, while the R&D project is itself a linear line of progress, where eventually you’ll have a stove that is both very clean and sells like hot cakes.

 

- What are people trying to do?

Tell clearly how a stove will perform in a given context.

 

- What problems are getting in the way of your success?

Unreliable testing protocols.

 

- What collaborations are possible?

First, a discussion that is happening here, to sort issues, if they are sortable, and select and develop testing protocols.

Then, any international collaborative R&D effort. Outside of the ISO of course.

 

Best,

Xavier

 

 

De : Stoves [mailto:stoves-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org] De la part de Gordon West
Envoyé : dimanche 3 septembre 2017 02:06
À : Discussion of biomass cooking stoves
Cc : aj.heggie at gmail.com
Objet : Re: [Stoves] News: National Geographic on promotion of gas stoves over improved woodstoves - in Guatemala

 

I have been mostly lurking here for many months reading the posts and looking for bits that have relevance to our development of various TLUD technologies, which we are interested in integrating with the objectives of you other globally conscious biomass/biochar proponents. I admit to you all that I am mostly at a loss to post anything, mostly because there is so much haggling over esoteric testing protocols and arguing between folks who seem to have known one another for some time and don’t appear to get along too well. I don’t think that one post in fifty is of much interest or use to me.

 

Perhaps you all could step back and consider the basic objectives of this forum, for the benefit of us who are new and who want to work with others advance our mission to establish biomass/biochar technologies as viable tools for common people to use to resist the continued destruction of the environment - both human and natural. 

 

Some basic questions I have include:

 

- What are people trying to do?

 

- What problems are getting in the way of your success?

 

- What collaborations are possible?

 

Best regards.

 

Gordon West

The Trollworks

 

An entrepreneur sees problems as the seeds of opportunity.

 

 

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