Is there a better way to cook?
In the west everyone has a stove. Everyone has a microwave. People are using their airfryer and there are all sorts of other convenient ways to get the food cooked.
However, in some developing countries people are still using a 3 stone fire as electricity is often not available. Or perhaps cooking over charcoal to prevent some of the smoke.
Now this weekend I'm out in the middle of nowhere (Rosswood) and while I could cook with my induction hotplate I chose to use two alternative cooking methods tonight. I thought I would share them with you.
First:
I have a woodgas burner called a BioLite. I really love this little stove.
Now I totally understand why some people still use the 3 stone fire to cook their food. Just grab some sticks, light the fire, and cook the food. However, there are problems.
- firewood can be hard to find and leads to deforestation
- the smoke can lead to health problems
- the smoke can make you smell bad and lead to a negative impression
So, I know one hive poster said that I shouldn't tell people to stop burning wood until there was a better and cheap solution.
I think this stove could be a good fit.
You see when using a typical 3 stone fire only about 20% of the wood is turned into heat and 80% of the wood is turned into smoke. That's not very efficient.
However, if you had a was to burn the smoke as well as the wood it would be closer to 100% efficient AND since the smoke got burnt there would not be any smoke to cause health problems!
Don't believe me?
This is the type of wood that I am burning.
This is the fire that I get.
And this is the food we were preparing.
Now I did have to refill a few times as we cooked more food after, not just the meat, but still this is all the ash at the end of the burn.
Almost all white ash, a little unburnt charcoal (which could be washed and used to make carbon water filter) and no unburnt wood.
As a side benefit....
and I think this is really cool
Notice the USB in the front of the unit? It has a battery inside that powers a fan that helps the burning process. How does the battery charge? From the heat of the fire. Even better.
It makes more electricity than the fan uses,
Not only can this cookstove cook your food, it can also power your phone, charge your power bank, or power an LED light or two. How fun is that?
Of course you'll probably say....It's too expensive for people who use a 3 stone fire to purchase. That is correct.
However, you can MAKE a similar stove using some ingenuity and two empty tin cans. Just lookup Garrington Woodgas stove. In Nigeria any old Paint can could also be used to make one.
In short...
..... Garbage could be used to make a stove like this with patience and practice.
I build one myself but there are challenges in getting it right and durability issues. (Hmm...maybe Creative Sunday post someday). With time and practice I did get one working though. It was so cool.
Anyways. Could any of you Hive Learners (or other curious people) give me your thoughts?
Second
I also have a Gosun Go Solar cooker. This is a smaller personal sized cooker. I've used it recently to cook chicken but today I just used it to boil water.
It is SUPER SIMPLE which I love.
Just add water, cover, and point at the sun.
No moving parts to break! Can last virtually forever with basic care and maintenance. I love that!
Now after 20 minutes I tried to get a good picture of the bubbling water. However, I only got pictures of the bubbles from the inside of the tube.
Poured the boiling water into the instant noodles.
Wait 3 minutes.
Then stir and eat.
I could have also used the boiling water for making instant coffee or tea. I could have cooked beans or reheated soup directly.
Also I could use the baking tray to cook meat or vegetables. Fried chicken in the sun is really satisfying.
Again, there could be a lot of criticism. Most important is that if there is no sun there is no cooking. Absolutely a drawback! However, when there is sun there is no fumes and no cost. How awesome is that! Also this item isn't cheap. However, it is again possible to build a solar oven using simple cardboard, styrofoam and aluminum foil and a piece of glass. Of even a basic sun shade for cars can be used to make a solar cooker. There are cheap options available.
Again. I'd love to get some ideas on this.
Personally I think these are both really neat devices. They are not as practical or as easy as a basic hotplate, microwave, or stove. I wouldn't give up my electrical appliances at all for these. However, if someone doesn't have reliable electricity or doesn't have money for electricity and is relying on wood then I think these may give a little nudge towards finding other ways to cook.
Thanks for taking a look.
@monica-ene, @emreal, @jmis101, @beautiefair @deborah-yelemu, @jjmusa2004, @nkemakonam89
and @solarisfuture had to ping you because solar electricity is great but so is solar cooking directly :)
I'm pinging a smaller group this time because you have been so awesome in supporting my posts in the past and I really enjoy your viewpoints. Hope you don't mind looking at another one. As always, if you don't want to get pinged let me know and I won't bother you.