Planning education to care for the earth - IUCN Knowledge Network

Matter of motivationlaboratory tests on the new stoves and were counselled to reduce theirconsumption of charcoal by 30 to 50 percent.Three challenges had to be faced: to train enough blacksmiths to make thestoves; to abandon progressively the making of Malagasy stoves; and topersuade consumers to buy the new product. It is a delicate task for agovernment on the one hand to damp the speculative tendencies ofcraftsmen who see the chance to make more money from a “new look” stove(the first to adopt the new technology were entitled to a subsidy in the formof raw material) and on the other to stimulate households into buying enoughof them to maintain a satisfactory rhythm of production. The average costprice was known and the awareness campaign indicated price ranges for thevarious models put on the market.The promotional messages which met the respective requirements ofproducers and consumers tended to push the prime objective of the projectinto the background. In fact, it very soon transpired that the main interest ofcraftsmen and housewives was not to hold back the advance of the desert.Personal calculations were more important. From the housewife’s point ofview, the new “Maslaha” stoves have many advantages. They use 50 percentless charcoal than the Malagasy stove, save cooking time, and can be usedwith various sizes of pot. The new stoves are more stable, with less risk thatpots will overturn and cause burns, and a ventilation door makes it possibleto regulate the fire quickly - a welcome option in a country with strongwinds. Savings on fuel enabled housewives to put small sums of moneyaside.Different models of the cooking stove promoted to reduce fuel consumption.Cooking is usually done outside. Photo: I.Thiaw85