Dear Jonathan
I also like you find that burning Jatropha directly in a cookstove will
be a good idea. It was also me that first got that idea. Our Jiko Bomba
cookstove are still a very good good stove for burning Jatropha seeds.
However at present I do not advocate for burning whole Jatropha seeds in
a cookstove, this has there reasons:
Health risk.
We know Jatropha oil is poisonous. I have personally experienced getting
headache when testing cookstoves burning Jatropha seeds. Other have told
me that they have got the same experiences.
I have not been able to find information on the health risk from gasses
from incomplete combustion of evaporated Jatropha oil gases. That means
we have no information on the health risk people will be exposed to by
using cookstoves burning Jatropha seeds.
As long as we do not have such information I do not personally find it
right to promote such stoves.
I would very much like if studies on these issue could be carried out,
but I am not aware of such studies are going on.
Outreach.
Quantities of Jatropha seeds are still limited. There could maybe be
some 100,000 ton of Jatropha seeds in Tanzania for colletion. Of these
at least half will be bought up by companies for pressing Jatropha oil.
That leaves in best case scenario 50,000 ton of Jatropha seeds for
burning in Jatropha cookstoves,
to cover for 50,000 households fuel needs.
On the other hand we know there are between 15 million to 20 million ton
of agricultural residues produced annually in Tanzania. The livestock
eat some of these and other will go to waste. However this is still an
energy source that utilized as pellets could produce energy for all
Tanzanian households cooking need. So I find more perspective in the
pellet option.
Jatropha as a cash crop.
I will still maintain that most farmers will not burn Jatropha seeds as
they see them as a cash crop. Jonathan writes: /is it not time that we
stopped taking such male perspectives as a given that cannot be changed,
and start working to relieve women (and the environment) of the burdens
of firewood as the main source of domestic energy in rural areas? /
I would wish it was so, but neither you or me or some else can change
such attitude it will take long time, so this is wishful thinking.
I will here not make comments to what Jonathan writes about the historic
development of the Jiko Safi and Jiko Bomba, and neither on their
performances. I will neither comment on our company Kiwia & Laustsen
Limited's grant funding or our economy in pelleting. I do not find it
appropriate to take such discussion in this forum.
Yours
Bjarne Laustsen
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