Dear Richard I really like the description of the challenge 'at the end' as the 'ultimate' one in the sense of if being the 'last one' (penultimate, ultimate) but fear the word will be misunderstood.
There is another way to analyse the distribution chain and that is from a more philosophical perspective. I am hoping Cecil (who is new to this group) will rise from his slumber couch - it is amazingly comfortable - and comment on this. There are all sorts of challenges to the provision of improved and cleaner stoves. One is suitability, another is a good fit into the transportation network. Suppose the last mile is not a distribution problem, but is rather the last mile of interactive design informed by a deep study of the cooking culture and aspirations of the users? In other words the last mile is the distance between the mouths of the customers and the ears of the stove program managers. Words may not travel that far whereas stoves can if you push them. Another distance I find is long is from the hearts of the users to their mouths. They may say very little, intimidated by the presence of the economically powerful or extremely polite to the foreigners. When offered a product claimed to be a step up, they may not have the will to say 'no.' They speak with their feet. The products may deliver exactly what the policy managers want, but isn't that what all vendors think? So, given the colourful history of stove projects around the world, it may be worth the effort to consider the last mile to be an mental rather than material gap. 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/
