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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple style='word-wrap: break-word;-webkit-nbsp-mode: space;-webkit-line-break: after-white-space'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Hello Stovies,<o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>For those who are interested, the pioneering developer of the Kenyan Ceramic Jiko, Maxwell Kinyanjui, died peacefully on Jan. 24th.<o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Max's creative work with cookstoves started with improving his backyard barbeque in Nairobi in the early 1980's. Soon, Energy/Development International hired him for a big USAID-funded project. They sent him to Thailand to learn about the design and manufacture of the "Thai Bucket" stove. He brought back ideas and adapted them for Kenyan culture. His was the first project to shift from owner-built (or even owner-assisted) designs, to using traditional ceramic and metal artisans and bring these skills together for a stove that could be transported and sold in markets. The KCJ project specifically avoided concentrating manufacture in one large industry, preferring to jumpstart production in several areas of the country. The idea was to not only share the wealth but also use competition to keep prices down. Quality control was the constant challenge, and imitators kept Max busy - he was happy for them to produce the stove, but only with the fuel-saving specifications.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>It was my great fortune to work with him in Kenya in 1983. His endless enthusiasm for jikos, for artisanal skills, for the challenge of making the impossible happen, made the impossible happen. He delighted in making friends with all kinds of people, in stimulating conversation, and planning new projects. When the KCJ took off, he concentrated his efforts on wood and charcoal supply, figuring out how to turn dry wasteland into forests. I had the great satisfaction to return in 2006, revive the old partnership for a couple weeks of working vacation, and see the KCJs in stores and homes literally everywhere - and walk through the cool microclimate of tree farms and forests that were thriving in the midst of square kms of dry, bare soil throughout semi-arid southern Kenya. Few people have made such an impact on their country. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>The gregarious Max avoided publicity because it felt like it wasted his time. One article published about him meant weeks of distracting phone calls, and he had projects to work on! <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>His son Teddy has inherited the same cheerful vigor and interest in stoves and trees, so the Kinyanjui legend and work will carry on. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'>Laurie Childers<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'><a href="http://www.lauriechilders.com">www.lauriechilders.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Peosyo_F2tI">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Peosyo_F2tI</a><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'><a href="http://forusa.org/blogs/laurie-childers/coming-peace/9996">http://forusa.org/blogs/laurie-childers/coming-peace/9996</a><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-style-span><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>"As hard as it is to believe in non-violent co-operative action as a way of changing the world for the better, it is easier to believe in than that burning and wrecking and shooting will make things better." - doctorpsycho1960 <i>(comment left on the music video)</i></span></span><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Helvetica","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></div></div></body></html>