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Stoves in Emergency Actions

Boiling Point
Issue 37 (1996) Household energy in emergency situations
Article	Stoves in Emergency Actions
Author	Waclaw Micuta

In recent years there have been several international emergency actions such as in Somalia, BosniHercegovina, in or around Rwanda and Burundi and other places, with an urgent need to supply people with stoves for cooking and/or heating. There are also a number of developing countries where deforestation has reached a critical point and where emergency actions are necessary to replant trees and economise on firewood use in order to restore the environmental and climatic balance. The Renewable Energies Development Institute (REDI) participated in such actions and continues its search for substitute fuels for firewood.

The author considers that there are two major factors which should be observed in stove design, namely good fuel combustion and good transfer of heat produced. This in turn calls attention to the proper fire-boxes, efficient air regulation, and appropriate cooking gear or heating devices.

However, adaptation of stoves to meet these technical requirements and to suit local conditions such as fuel used, food produced, cooking pots, size of stoves (family versus community), location of stoves (in or outside premises), stove material, likes and dislikes of users, and of course the cost of the stove, presents great difficulties. Imported stoves hardly ever answer these needs and are too expensive because of transportation costs. It follows that stoves should be manufactured on the spot.

Time is always important in emergency situations. The stove prototype must be designed, manufactured and tested within a short time and pilot schemes should be started as soon as possible. The view that this is only possible for sheetmetal stoves was expressed in an article in BP31 (by Micuta) in which he emphasized the greater efficiency of metal stoves as compared to mud stoves.

It follows that a camp team introducing stoves must include skilled metal workers. Stoves proposed should be fuel efficient. durable, easy to operate and designed in such a way that their production could be done in local enterprises or camp workshops at the lowest price possible. Co-operation with the producers is needed from the first stage.

Organisations responsible for emergency operations have funds at their disposal and are often willing to use them for manufacturing stoves and training refugees. This gives a good opportunity to transform emergency actions into development, aiming at production of stoves in the camp area or when the refugees return home.

[top] [end]East African stoves

The Somalia stove was designed by REDI for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1992 for the emergency action in Somalia. The only material available at that time in Somalia was empty 45 gallon oil drums. The complete stove with a 110 litre pot, lid and door is made from two drums. The pot rests in the firebox made from pieces of reinforced rods, and the pot sits well into the outer stove case for wind protection and to give maximum heat transfer. The stove pot construction has a specific fuel consumption of 51 gm of wood per litre of boiling water, fuel efficiency about 50% at boiling point and an average power output of 6.1 kW. This stove is now also being used in refugee camps in and around Rwanda and Burundi. It also serves well for washing dirty linen in boiling water in hospitals and dispensaries.

[top] [end]Bosnia

A quite different type of stove was developed by REDI, again at the request of the ICRC, in the second half of 1992. It was realized at that time that there was a crying need to save homeless

people from the severe Bosnian winter, and to serve sick and wounded people in hospitals deprived of central heating. The stove was first used for heating premises and secondly for cooking. The stove heats premises by circulation of air. It produces 100 m3/hr of air at an average of 73°C. It will boil 10 litres of water from 10°C in 27 min. The average temperature of the hot plate comes to 310°C and average power output is 7 to 8kW. REDI selected local enterprises capable of manufacturing stoves, set up production and established quality controls of finished stoves. Price and terms of delivery were negotiated by the ICRC procurement officers. Quality control was performed by the ICRC officers responsible for the distributors.

The first contract was signed by the ICRC, the second by the British National Red Cross, followed by the High Commissioner for Refugees and other international and national organisations. During 1992 and 1993 about 100,000 stoves were produced and delivered.

[top] [end]Sump oil stove

Used sump oil is a serious problems in developing countries. It is highly polluting and is very often simply poured into soil, and can pollute underground water. The burning of this oil by the population is forbidden in most European countries. In 1994/95 REDI developed a stove which burns sump oil or diesel oil without polluting the air. The large models are designed for heating large premises such as hospital wards, and the smaller ones for drying vegetables and fruit. Food can be cooked on the heating plate which reaches 300-400°C. The stoves could be produced in countries which need them.

[top] [end]Kerosene stove

REDI also developed a simple yet efficient kerosene burner working with gravity fuel feed which could be produced in some developing countries. A windshield can be put around the burner and pot. Such burners would immediately oust charcoal for cooking. The stove price seems to be acceptable even for poor people, and where kerosene is available at a reasonable price it could replace a charcoal fuel stove.

The stove was first developed for an Afghan refugee camp in 1983, In 1987 we received the Swiss patent on our burner and we continued work on its improvement, which was interrupted in 1992 by the sudden death of Emil Haas. It was further developed and in 1994 was taken up by the Haiti Government. Family size stoves were given to selected families for trial and so far reactions are favourable.

The example of this action shows that 'where there is a will, there is a way'. We should all hope that sooner or later a real will appear to stop the present inexcusable waste of firewood in most developing countries. REDI continues to develop 'the ways' and would be only too happy to share their knowledge and experience with people who want and can use it.

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