Eric Rasmussen asked what "characteristics that make an improved stove, a sexy, aspirational stove, a stove that women actually want, and use and cherish, and beg to spend scarce resources to pay for."
If it helps, my experience in a really low income village may be worth sharing. It was a recently established village, due to some social upheavals, and the householders were at the very bottom of the economic pile, <5% employment, reliant on social grants for survival. Most homes were of corrugated iron supported on weak beams, and had ridiculous thermal properties when you considered an environment where temperatures could go to -8 deg C overnight in winter. Coal was the primary cooking and heating fuel, with found wood and dung subsidiary fuels, and a bit of paraffin. At the lowest income level, the coal was burned in open braziers, which were usually lit in the late afternoon outside where the smoke was lost to atmosphere; only when the fire bed was reduced to a mass of glowing coals was it brought indoors and used for the evening meal and to heat the home. Indoor air pollution was terrible. One of the first investments was a cast-iron stove of a wood-burning design originating (I think) in the US in the 1870's. The patterns are still around, and there is a thriving market in spare parts for this design. New stoves could cost up to $800; a second-hand one cost at least $300. There was an established microfinance scheme that allowed users to buy one for only $10/month - apparently for ever! Certainly one user of an expensive model was still paying after ten years. The advantages were numerous - the fact that the stove had a chimney meant far cleaner indoor air; you could cook, heat water, bake, heat the iron, keep the home warm during the night, burn rubbish and, above all, invite your friends to come and share in your success. It was this last which emerged as almost the most important feature - possession of such a stove declared your social status to the community. This is just one example, and is not, of course, universally applicable. It happens to be widespread where coal is readily available cheaply - within about 150km of the coal mines. But it does illustrate how it is possible that, if you can really meet people's needs, they will find a way to get your appliance, however much it costs. Regards to all Philip Lloyd Energy Institute Cape Peninsula University of Technology PO Box 652, Cape Town 8000 Tel:021 460 4216 Fax:021 460 3828 Cell: 083 441 5247 _______________________________________________ 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://stoves.bioenergylists.org/
