Understanding Stoves

This book presents the results of a decade of dedicated promotion and experimentation with fuel efficient stoves in India by my friend Sai Bhaskar Reddy Nakka. Sai Bhaskar’s approach has been original in many ways. He has investigated the different mixes of biomass used in different areas of India – not just fuel wood but also leaves, dung, pellets, briquettes, seeds and other materials. He then designed the different stoves accordingly. Sai Bhaskar also looked at different products from the stoves – obviously the direct heating but also the possibility of producing charcoal (Biochar) as a by-product from the stoves. This work is not lab-based but undertaken in the promotion campaigns he has been involved within Andhra Pradesh and parts of other states in India. The relevance of this work is large. Many people are and will remain dependent on local biomass for their daily needs. This issue of biomass has often associated with the degradation of the surrounding environment: the depletion of natural tree stands or the loss of nutrients to the growing cycle. It has also been associated with hardship: collecting biomass – typically by women – over large areas, and health issues because of excessive smoke from in-house fires.

For all these reasons I am very happy that this book of ‘The Stove Man’ could be prepared, to share the praxis-based knowledge developed by a unique innovator and to serve as a source of inspiration and new ideas for those working in energy and development. We hope that this book gives an impulse to the constant effort to make lives better and richer.

- Frank van Steenbergen, MetaMeta, Netherlands.