Report 5 (of 5): A Burning Concern - Madagascar

Introduction

Madagascar is only 400 kilometres from Mozambique and the African mainland. The island has been separate from the African mainland for so long that the native wildlife and plants have evolved in a different way to other places in the world. The plants and wildlife are now under serious threat as the poor villagers raze the forests for fuel to sell to the people in the town in order to generate income for themselves.

It is often believed that deforestation in Madagascar is caused by slash and burn activity. In the Eastern rainforests and tropical forests, the misuse of fire and agro-pastoral systems does contribute to deforestation. However, the main pressure comes from the supply of energy in the form of charcoal or fuelwood, and construction wood to urban centres along the coastal areas.

Providing consumers with an alternative, cheaper source of energy is the only practical way to reduce the amount of fuel being used. By reducing the relatively high percentage of household budget used for purchasing the energy used in cooking, families are now able to spend more of their income in other areas, such as nutrition, health, education for children, lodgings and other things that can improve the standard of living for urban residents.

The Energy Project

An energy programme has been set up by the World Wide Fund and a local NGO, called the Association to Save the Environment, which focuses on innovative energy saving techniques. The energy project is producing and marketing more fuel efficient charcoal and wood cooking stoves. These stoves have the potential to reduce the consumption of natural forest products used in food preparation by between 30 and 50 per cent. While fuel saving technologies are no substitute for reforestation, they are an important complementary activity.

Improved Charcoal Burning Stoves

Until recently, in Tuliar, 95 per cent of the population used charcoal burning stoves as their main source of cooking with many families spending between 10 and 25 per cent of their income on purchasing the charcoal to fuel the stoves. The improved charcoal burning stove retains heat and reduces the amount of charcoal used by at least 30 per cent. The new design cuts down on deforestation and helps to reduce poverty because less income is needed for the supply of energy and instead can be utilised elsewhere.

The charcoal stoves are produced by local artisans and cost about GBP £2.50 to buy. Although the initial capital cost is quite high, the investment has been recouperated by a household after only two months because of the huge savings made on the energy supply. Users of the new improved charcoal burning stove find that instead of buying five sacks of charcoal a month, they only need two. The extra money can be used for rice, meat and clothes for the children etc.

The target is to sell 600 stoves in the first twelve months and 2,300 the following year. Within the next five years, it is hoped that 50 per cent of families in the Tuliar region will have been converted to the new improved stoves.

The Kenya Ceramic Jiko

The Madagascan improved charcoal burning stove has been modified from the Kenya Ceramic Jiko which is made of a ceramic liner fitted inside a metal case. It burns between 25 and 40 percent less charcoal compared to the traditional stoves and it saves about 25 kilogrammes of charcoal per month. The Kenya Ceramic Jiko has been widely and easily adopted because it is modelled on the traditional Kenyan metal stove design and requires no change in the methods of cooking or stove use.

Materials for the Kenya Ceramic Jiko

Two basic materials are needed to make the Kenya Ceramic Jiko: clay and metal. These materials should be found close to the production sites and markets to keep transport costs at a minimum.

Properties of Metal Sheeting

The stove casing is made from mild sheet steel, although galvanised material is used sometimes if suitable supplies of scrap are not available. All the joints in the casing are either rivetted or folded which means that no welding, soldering or brazing is required. A thin steel can be used in the Kenya Ceramic Jiko because the ceramic liner protects the metal from direct contact with the burning coals and any rusting develops slowly. The double cone shape of the casing provides inherent strength, which is reinforced by inserting the ceramic liner.

The minimum recommended thickness of sheet for the casing is 0.5mm and the thickest is 0.8mm. A good source of mild sheet steel is scrap bitumen drums. The entire stove can be made from this material, with the exception of the pot rests, feet and pot rest holders. The pot rests should be made from mild steel roundbar, 7-8mm in diameter, and the feet and pot rest holders from mild steel sheet at least 0.8mm thick, but preferably 1mm. The pot rest holders can be made from 200 litre oil drum scrap metal which is usually about 1mm thick. They are subject to higher loads than other parts of the casing and may tend to unfold if made from thinner material.

Properties of Clay

The availability of the right clay is the most critical factor in determining if the Kenya Ceramic Jiko can be made. A ceramic liner needs to have physical strength, the ability to resist thermal (heat) shock and insulating capability.

The best type of clay to use in liner making should have good physical strength when fired to 900°C; it should remain slightly porous when fired to 1150°C, increasing weight by more than 10 per cent when soaked in water; it should not warp when fired to 1250°C; it should fire to a light salmon colour; it should shrink less than 8 per cent going from a wet plastic state to dry; and it should be plastic.

If the clay does not have these properties, different clay types can be mixed together. Sand, saw dust and other minerals can also be added to form a suitable body. The fewer additional materials that have to be mixed with the clay, the lower the production costs and the less supervision required.

There is no substitute for good quality materials and it takes time to develop the right clay mixture. A line maker must have a well-designed, economical kiln which fires quickly and evenly. Although good quality liners can be made by hand on a potter’s wheel, a special moulding machine will significantly improve output, appearance and durability of the finished liner.

Clay Deposits

Deposits of clay must be extensive, covering at least 2,500 square metres, to a depth of no less than 50 cm. If the deposit is smaller, it cannot be considered a dependable supply. Deposits must be accessible and close to the surface because topsoil that is more than 2 metres deep makes mining expensive and difficult. No more than 50 per cent sand should be present in the clay’s natural state.

Use and Care of the Kenya Ceramic Jiko

1. Load the stove with charcoal that has already been broken down to an appropriate size - do not break up large pieces of the charcoal inside the stove. The airgate should be open.

2. Use a mixture of ash and kerosene underneath the stove to light it.

3. Fan the fire after lighting, again with the airgate open.

4. Leave the airgate open if a lot of heat is needed.

5. Close the airgate for slow cooking.

6. To extinguish the fire shake the ashes and coals out onto the ground, then pour water onto the coals. Do not pour water directly onto the stove to extinguish the fire.

Further reading available from ITDG Development Bookshop

Appropriate Mud Stoves in East Africa
Stephen Gitonga
This publication has over 150 illustrations, and is an easy-to-understand guide on production, promotion and dissemination of mudstoves in East Africa. It provides the basic rules of thumb that organizations and communities need to observe in order to improve on the efficiency of traditional fires. It will be of interest to field staff, decision makers in development agencies, project planners and implementors, community members and promoters of appropriate energy technologies.
£9.00, (IT Kenya), 1997, ISBN 99 6696 064 3

Fuel-Saving Cookstoves
£15.95, (Vieweg), ISBN 3528020075

Improved Wood Waste and Charcoal Burning Stoves: A practitioner's manual
W. Stewart and others
A manual for those involved in the day-to-day work of stoves projects. The book describes the chief characteristics, both advantages and disadvantages, of 28 types of stoves.
£14.95, (ITP), 1987, ISBN 0 946688 65 6

The Kenya Ceramic Jiko: A manual for stove makers
Hugh Allen
The Jiko, a charcoal-burning stove consisting of a ceramic liner fitted inside a metal case, burns 25 to 40 percent less charcoal than the traditional stoves on which its design was based. This book provides guidance on its production and promotion.

£14.95, (ITP), 1991, ISBN 1 85339 083 6
Modern Stoves for All
Waclaw Micuta
Revised edition of this practical survey of low-cost stoves for use in developing countries. Prepared for skilled technicians who will be able to use the drawings as a basis for building stove models, for testing and adaptation to local conditions.
£9.95, (ITP), 1985, ISBN 0 946688 35 4

The Stove Project Manual: Planning and implementation
S. D. Joseph, Y. M. Shanahan and W. Stewart
Detailed guidelines for project managers interested or involved in stoves programmes. The book draws on Intermediate Technology's experience in helping associations implement stoves programmes.
£14.95, (ITP), 1985, ISBN 0 946688 26 5
 
 

TVE/ Practical Action gratefully acknowledge support for the HANDS ON programmes from the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), the European Commission (EC), the UN Foundation and UNDP/The Equator Initiative in collaboration with the Government of Canada, IDRC, IUCN, BrasilConnects and the Nature Conservancy.