Stoves

The Darfur situation has been on my radar for a few years. The article by Nicholas Kristof about how the women had to go out of the safety of the camps to gather firewood, since they would "only be raped" instead of if the men will be killed, was a major reason I started paying attention to the crisis. The problem of gathering firewood has always been on my mind, and for a long time I don't really know what practical solutions have been deployed to address that very specific problem. I knew of solar stoves, but I hadn't heard much of wide deployment so I was also curious why they hadn't been.

We were talking about such issues tonight over dinner (part of a part enthusiastic rant and discussion about efficiencies of governments, NGOs, logistics of aid etc), and I got to googling about solar stoves in Darfur. I happened upon this site instead, which gave a ton of information, plus the relief that oh, there are good people trying to solve it in a real way. Good people from the bay area too.


Essentially, solar stoves could not really be used in Darfur because they do not suit the climate there and the stoves could not provide enough BTUs to cook the type of food they had. The Darfur Stoves Project is instead advocating a small metallic stove which are currently being manufactured by local Darfurians using scrap metal (with much of the cost subsidized by donations abroad of course). It is good news indeed. While the politicians fight over everything and the UN security council gets nothing done, at least hopefully there is one practical solution at work in Darfur. One slice at a time. Lessening the demand for firewood is a big one.

They seem to be in need of much design or web related help. Maybe I'll see if they need any photoshop skills. I have to really ask myself if I can commit to it though, I'd hate to bait and switch on people with good intentions. Maybe I should wait til September first, when life ramps down from high gear back to normal pace.

But definitely, I can at least buy someone a stove.

P.S. There are recent updates about the Darfur Stoves Project here.
P.P.S. Here is KQED tv episode about their endeavor: http://www.kqed.org/quest/television/view/923