Designing Ecological Habitats - Gaia Education

appropriate tecHnology: searcHing for tHe rigHt fit 149
can be too dense if they are poured straight into the hopper, which results in
choking down the draft system.
So, the question becomes, are there any technologies out there that work
in a tropical setting and rely on readily-available fuel materials?
More Appropriate Technology
With the natural waste materials such as leaves, bark, woodchips and rice
by-products found in this region, the Lucia Stove developed in Italy is an
ingenious solution to energy requirements when it comes to cooking. The
various fuels can be converted into heat suitable for cooking by means of
a double-walled cylinder using the pyrolysis principle. The efficiency is
tenfold higher than the conventional open stoves that people are currently
using and the system is very easy to build: it requires only a few metal cans
or pieces of sheet metal to construct a typical model. The program for the
Lucia Stove is designed to empower people to initiate their own livelihoods
by manufacturing the stoves and becoming a supplier of fuel and compost.
Besides the large savings of fuel consumed during the heating of a meal,
the user has the option of trading the bio-waste for compressed briquettes
of fuel. A central collection point is established where a mass of fuel can
be brought and exchanged for an equivalent value of briquette. There will
always be higher net weight of bio-waste since the energy invested to make
the briquette has to be offset. After the burning process, the residue in the
rice hull stove becomes a good soil enhancer. This resource can then be
exchanged for needed items or saved up for later collection as compost
material. The trader or central collection point thus has the option of
spreading good organic fertilizer throughout the region. This high quality
fertilizer aerates the soil, holds moisture better, and creates homes in the
pockets of the material for micro-organisms which are crucial for better
soil building.
With this system of local trade, money can be eliminated from the scene.
A system of saving and trade is established whereby the buyer of a stove can
bring in a large supply of fuel for months or weeks prior to the purchase,
thus building up credit and in doing so empowering him or her to be an
active part of the local economic system. Many systems have been devised
to help impoverished communities rise from their situation but in these
systems money usually plays a disproportionate role. With the example of
the Lucia Stove, people have the power to move forward on several planes:
including saving in fuel costs, enriching their soils to grow better crops, and
increasing local self-reliance.
Unfortunately, there is a current trend of ignorance as many valuable
resources are lost by burning the ‘waste’ in piles just to get rid of it. It
will take community education programs and the introduction of viable
technologies such as the Lucia Stove in this region to help eliminate
such unfortunate consequences as air pollution, loss of resources, and
the contamination of water bodies due to the dumping of organic and