Sustainable Heating and Cooking Technolgy Part 3 - Stoves for Cooking

In my previous post titles "Sustainable Heating and Cooking Technology Part 2," I discussed three innovations in sustainable stoves for cooking. The first was the Lorena Stove, developed in the 70's. The second was the addition of the "rocket elbow" combustion chamber, and the third is the idea of insulating the combustion chamber to increase efficiency and deliver maximum heat to the cooking surface.

Combining the three results in a vastly improved stove:

Improvement on the Lorena Stove

Note the detail of the difference: Insulative material inside the stove

Here is another explanation, combining insulation and Rocket technology to improve the original Lorena stove and arrive at the Justa Stove.

"Increasing Fuel Efficiency and Reducing Harmful Emissions in Traditional Cooking Stoves" (scroll down to see "the new Lorena Stove")

After finding many, many stove designs and considerations online, this is the one I am going to build.

Here is a picture of the stove with Dona Justa, the woman it is named for!

Justa stove info:

Justa Stoves

Guide to Building the Justa Stove

Justa Stove Slideshow from Trees Water People

Youtube video of Justa stove in Honduras

Here are instructions for building the stove. These are in Spanish:








Here's a commercial version:






Prolena Ecostove/Justa Stove









There are many other variations of ecological stove designs for developing countries. More examples can be found here:

More types of rocket stoves

and for stoves in use in Central Africa, here:

Rocket Stove Designs for Central and Southern Africa


If that isn't enough stove design for you, here are some sites that I found interesting.

An entire list of stoves made out of tin cans! Most of these don't appeal to me because they use fuel that has to be purchased. I'm more interested in burning what is available, probably wood/twigs.

Archive of Tin Can Stove Designs

Some info on "DYI" Solar cookers - but they are mostly DIY anyway - though you can buy them if you want:

DIY Solar cookers

And Max Edleson again, with his super awesome looking stove in Bali:

Max Edleson's Wood Fire Cookstove


For further reading on the vast complexity of developing and introducing stoves in a social, cultural, economic and ecologicla context, the following articles are enlightening:

Issue of "Boiling Point" dedicated to the deforestation crisis and sustainable cooking and heating technlogy

Primer on the social, economical and environmental complexity of cookstove design

Interesting manual from Aprovecho "Fuel Saving Cookstoves"

Treekeepers- 1st Class

This Saturday I started my Treekeepers certification class. One of our presenters from the Bureau of Forestry didn't show up, but we did learn about dangers facing trees and a little bit about identifying some of them.

Between damage from people (lawnmowers are a huge danger to trees) and diseases, urban trees are in a precarious situation.

Poor Trees!