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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-GB link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Nikhil<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Thanks for appreciating something outside the boxes we create for ourselves – here and in other places. My take is that wood is too precious to burn. I’m sure somebody did the figures to prove that there is enough waste – natural and man-made – that we can recycle and use, like biomass briquettes, so we don’t have to totally deforest this ONE planet we have.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Combine this with raising awareness at grass roots level, more efficient stoves, intensive but <b>sensitive</b> tree planting (just been reading this from India https://news.trust.org/item/20170809152955-4xaln/ ) AND management and we would be a big step closer to dealing with our issues. The “ever shrinking jungle” goes back 10 years when I joined the list, watching our tree cover in The Gambia disappear slowly but surely. Millions of bucks of project funding spent, mismanagement, greed and corruption under a dictator for 22 years… just the usual human follies…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Not sure about the epidemic you have read somewhere…. I know here Malaria is on the increase again, early child mortality too due to bad nutrition, migration the “back way” by the youth to “greener fields” on the bottom of the Mediterranean, over fishing by Chinese “donors” off our coast, illegal logging of rare woods and export to mainly China. Our new Government are trying hard but the previous guy totally bled the country and a whole generation has never seen anything else so it will take some time.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>We did do a stove and briquetting pilot (with the help of Crispin and Richard) rather successfully about 5 years ago so now that we slowly getting more approachable people into positions we will start picking this up again and try to push it forward! One tree at a time </span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Wingdings;color:#1F497D'>J</span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>George<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> Nikhil Desai [mailto:pienergy2008@gmail.com] <br><b>Sent:</b> 10 August 2017 16:26<br><b>To:</b> Discussion of biomass cooking stoves<br><b>Cc:</b> George Riegg<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [Stoves] Biomass briquetting tangents<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal>George: <br><br>Wonderful. Thank you for sharing it here. Yes, "wood is not only for burning". Back a hundred years ago, a Home Economics student at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, had published a paper on evaluation of fuels and stoves, where she wrote (I am writing from memory), "Wood is too valuable for other uses" (than burning as cooking fuel). <br><br>Never been to the Gambia but alarmed at your mention "ever shrinking jungle". That is partly the reason for the disease epidemic, no? <br><br>Maybe "more efficient woodstoves" will some day protect enough forests so we will be saved from pandemics originating in forests. <br><br>Nikhil<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><br clear=all><o:p></o:p></p><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>------------------------------------------------------------------------<br>Nikhil Desai</span><o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='font-family:"Georgia","serif"'>(US +1) 202 568 5831<br><i>Skype: nikhildesai888</i></span><o:p></o:p></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal>On Thu, Aug 10, 2017 at 11:06 AM, icecool <<a href="mailto:icecool@qanet.gm" target="_blank">icecool@qanet.gm</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>It’s slightly off topic but I just felt I need to share this.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>A year ago I needed a hernia operation and my doctor prescribed 3 weeks of light duty. As I always found it hard to just sit with idle hands I started fiddling with some of our sawdust and paper briquettes and wood hanging around the compound. One year on and we are now at the stage where we want to put an exhibition together – together with other wood carvings using re-purposed waste wood – to be used to raise awareness, show the beauty of wood and hopefully raise some cash to help us in our work. Maybe this can act as inspiration to someone – wood is not only for burning!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b>Title: 3 – 2 – 1 – Thunk</b>. Human tenacity and folly. Try and try again (hard to see from this angle, but the guy who just got launched is sticking in the boot, head first)<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>Materials: Briqettes, Mimosa root for the steps, wooden beads and matchsticks, base cut from an old diseased shade tree.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><img border=0 width=353 height=479 id="m_3615051578278621473Picture_x0020_0" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D3129D.E4EB55F0" alt="3-2-1 thunk.jpg"><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b>Title: Hey man – Walk the Talk!</b> Speaks for himself and totally cracks me up…<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>Materials: Briquettes for the boots, bits of Mimosa, shaped and glued together, base as above.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><img border=0 width=373 height=280 id="m_3615051578278621473Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image002.jpg@01D3129D.E4EB55F0" alt=walk1.jpg><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b>Title: Building Bridges</b>. The meeting of “black” and “white” across the chasm – no matter how hard it is sometimes, it’s always worth the risk to TRY!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>Materials: Briquettes with embedded wire, <span class=m3615051578278621473hascaption>mounted on a repurposed Umbrella Tree plank and populated by "beadheads" meeting on a rickety bridge made from wire and Mimosa slivers.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span class=m3615051578278621473hascaption> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><img border=0 width=373 height=280 id="m_3615051578278621473Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image003.jpg@01D3129D.E4EB55F0" alt=bridge2.jpg><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b>Title: Heads or Tales</b>. This one just shows the beauty of natural wood.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>Materials: <span class=m3615051578278621473hascaption>A mimosa chunk cut to reveal the patterns inside, with a noticeable head...mounted on a piece of repurposed redwood roof beam.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span class=m3615051578278621473hascaption> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><img border=0 width=398 height=240 id="m_3615051578278621473Picture_x0020_3" src="cid:image004.jpg@01D3129D.E4EB55F0" alt="16939681_10154847687182254_3846140343269870221_n.jpg"><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>George from the ever shrinking jungle!<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><br>_______________________________________________<br><br><o:p></o:p></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></div></body></html>