A few Saturdays ago, a few of us PCTs (Peace Corps Trainees) went to Entebbe to learn about the construction of mud and brick stoves. The stove can function for a number of years and is relatively inexpensive to construct. The only materials needed are water, anthill/termite soil (readily available in any field in the area), bricks (only possible expense), sawdust and banana tree trunks (also readily avail in any field in this area). The stove we helped to construct is wood powered (less expensive and less smoke output). It was really neat to see how the stove is designed using local materials and their purpose. The anthill soil is used because it’s thought that the termites (called white ants locally) bring up soil that’s deeper in the ground and of better quality. The dirt is mixed with sawdust and water to make mud. The sawdust mixed in later burns off, creating air pockets that help to conduct the heat. The banana trunks are placeholders used to create passages for the air/heat to travel from the wood input area to the burners, and also to create a chimney. The trunks are removed as the stove dries and they decompose. Pretty cool stuff.
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| Mix mud with water and sawdust |
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| Split bricks with a machete if they're not the size you want! |
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| Assemble... |
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| Voila! A 2-burner stove! The bowls will be removed after the mud has dried. |
Do cooking instructions come with the stove?
ReplyDeleteBerwyn, Mary Goodwin is helping me post this comment. she was head of the French dept at Northview HS and knows how computers work. I love your blog and hope you continue to have Internet access! Love you so much.Mama
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