Dear Ron Your comments are rare but worth waiting for.
My central point is that all people are noble and material deprivation does not allow others to condescend, nor for them to consider that material possessions constitute the sum of wealth. There is every reason for everyone to pay what is due. As Dean points out, stoves are 'value for money'. As I try to point out, being clever or elegant can produce the anticipated benefits without additional cost. I was privileged to spend a single night with the aboriginal people in the mountains of Malaysia two weeks ago. Town folk go there and criticise them for not having toilets and proper houses and regular jobs. All the criticisms are true. However the reaction by the Orang Asli is interesting. They feel that going to someone's place and openly criticising what others have and how they live is a serious lack of proper upbringing. They view the town people as uncivilised. Different measuring stick. Giving a civilised person something for free because you think they are poor diminishes them in their own eyes - they are obviously already diminished in yours as indicated by the donation. People should be allowed to retain their self respect and as I said, nobility. Regards Crispin back in Waterloo with Fall falling all around -----Original Message----- From: Ronald Hongsermeier <[email protected]> Date: Tue, 06 Nov 2012 18:19:44 To: <[email protected]>; Discussion of biomass cooking stoves<[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Stoves] Fwd: Smoke-free biomass pellet fueled stove Dear Crispin, Thank you! I'm reminded of Jesus' commendation of the widow's mite here-- and his very straightforward statement that we would always have the poor with us. Trying for balance in honoring Him and serving _all_ my neighbors. regards, Ronald von Humbledhausen On 06.11.2012 17:52, Crispin Pemberton-Pigott wrote: > Dear Ron and Tom and All > > I was asked by a permanently employed person as recently as this week to > donate the IP for a stove to help the poor. It costs between $20,000 and $1m > to develop a novel stove and bring it to the end of the assembly line - to > say nothing about getting it into the market. > > Paal, how long, in hours, did you spend perfecting the Peko Pe? I am always > happy and impressed that so many people volunteer their time even if they > have no stable income, just to make the world a better place. Sometimes it is > to get one's ideas out there and 'helping' sometimes it is part of a larger > marketing exercise. > > What I favour (and have done it) is to pay to someone a small fee of my own > devising if I use an invention I consider significant and helpful even if the > person doesn't ask for it and doesn't need it. > > Think of this as inverting the typical theft of intellectual property: paying > something for every helpful idea because it is the right thing to do! > Instead of looking to get something valuable for free and assisting others, > how about it being the new normal to thank the inventor even if they didn't > want it? They can divert the income to a worthy cause if they wish. > > The morality of this is evident: the beneficiary is just as obligated to the > inventor as the intermediary. It is not true at all that 'poor people' should > not be a normal part of a functioning society. Playing it that way is to > diminish their full social status and damage their self-image, however subtle > the effect. > > We should thank and reward our 'teachers'. Even if it is a meal of > appreciation fed to non-needy but capable inventor discharges the > intellectual property. > > Regards > Crispin > _______________________________________________ > Stoves mailing list > > to Send a Message to the list, use the email address > [email protected] > > to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page > http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org > > for more Biomass Cooking Stoves, News and Information see our web site: > http://www.bioenergylists.org/ > > > > ----- > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 10.0.1427 / Virus Database: 2441/5376 - Release Date: 11/05/12 > > _______________________________________________ Stoves mailing list to Send a Message to the list, use the email address [email protected] to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org for more Biomass Cooking Stoves, News and Information see our web site: http://www.bioenergylists.org/
