[Stoves] Billion Stoves Program

[David G. LeVine]

At 07:46 AM 3/8/2007, you wrote:
>If we are to persuade rural women, we need to communicate effectively to them:

Absolutely.

>Kirk R. Smith, East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii wrote:

<snip>

>If their cookstove does the job of cooking and the wood is consumed in the
>stove as it should be, and if their life experience is that burning wood
>inevitably results in smoke and ashes what could they find possibly find
>wrong with their current stoves. If they see nothing wrong, how could  it
>become necessary for them to change what they have been using for decades or
>generations.

But they can understand that if they spend less 
time gathering fuel, they have more time to do 
other things.  Give one stove to someone visible 
and have her tell people "I spend an hour less a 
day gathering fuel and cooking" and the others 
will listen.  Enlightened self-interest wins 
again.  Let her have enough time freed so she can 
be seen to relax and she will be the envy of others, which can be good or bad.

What would happen if a stove made from discarded 
tin cans were given to one woman in the village 
and the method of building it was offered to 
others in comic form, then a stainless one was 
offered for a price with a small number given 
away?  Well, I bet the tin can stoves (with their 
shorter lives) would be common and the stainless 
ones would become something desired by most 
people who started out on three rocks.  Remember 
that claims the people can't see don't affect them, claims they can verify do.

>Greenhouse gasses ­ how could they or most ordinary people ever relate to
>that? What is a greenhouse? What is a gas? If the gasses go up into the sky
>and disappears ­ its gone for good ­ no problem.
>The point of this post is that the target user must be taken much more
>seriously into consideration. The billion clean stoves idea is a good one;
>hopefully this post will give additional insights on the reasons for
>possible resistance to change among target users of improved or clean
>stoves.

They won't and can't afford to care about this 
kind of issue:  Their lives are at stake.  Unless 
they survive to bring up their children, there is 
no way for their children to survive.  If they 
don't make it until tomorrow, their children won't be around to worry about.


David G. LeVine
Nashua, NH  03060


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