Rocket Stove

This is the first of a few posts from Shammi. Shammi recently returned to India from Kufunda Village, Zimbabwe where he was continuing his life journey of learning and sharing. Whether bicycling the hills and jungles of Rajasthan bartering his hands and mind in exchange for food and shelter, learning how to make chapals from used tires, creating tasty meals with little or no oil/ butter, documenting the love songs of the Bengali Bauls on film or creating useful everyday objects from old magazines, Shammi is always active creating a more beautiful, sustainable world.

His first contribution is about a rocket stove that was built by his friends Jenny and Steven in the Kufunda Village:

~Whenever Jenny would sit near the fire as we would cook she would look at the smoke
coming out of the fire and express her concern for the unburnt smoke and would talk
about the fuel efficient Rocket Stove that they have in their place. So finally
she began working on it with Steven and finished it just before she left. It had not dried before she left so she didn’t get a chance to test it.

One day when we were cooking with the kids we decided to use it and I was REALLY
AMAZED at its working. It is super efficient, I would say it can do the same job in
half or even 40 percent of the wood and doesn’t give any smoke. I used to think
how can one have a wood burning stove without smoke but this actually is.
It was made on one of the old stove like the ones next to it.
The inner chamber was made by joining small, metal cyclinders and was given a layer of clay outside.
The gap has to be filled with ash in order to insulate and keep the heat go up rather than pass on to the clay which will become a thermal mass. We don’t want the stove to get hot but to transfer all the heat from the fire to the pot. One has to just put some clay over the ash and make three protrusions to put the pot and jenny had also said that we need to make a skirt around the place of the pot so no fire escapes from the side as that also is a big loss in the fire.
Tinashi was the one who agreed to light it up. The kids in Kufunda are really good at making fire, as I suppose they do it enough at home.

The chamber for putting wood is really small and according to jenny one is supposed to put thinner pieces. I read some where that it increases the surface are of the wood which makes it burn better.As you can see only the tips of the wood burn unlike the other stove where the whole log can also burn at on time thereby dying out soon.
The fire is on but there is no smoke, only when you take your hand near you feel the heat.
There should be a skirt made around the place you keep the pot so no heat escapes from the side and is all directed to the pot.

Zimbabwean soldiers are being given elephant meat for their rations ~BBC news

Tune: Ration by Bongo Herman And Bingy Bunny



Tune: All That Meat and No Potatoes by Fats Waller




Tune: The Elephant Never Forgets by Jean Jacques Perrey

Tune: Turn My Teeth Up! by Baby Elephant

Tune: Andarele by Papá Roncón & Katanga

Tune: Girl from Pakistan by Bikram Singh & Elephant Man

Tune: El Tren Featuring Corrales - Prince Nico Mbarga by The King Elio Boom from Champeta Criolla Vol II


Tune: Fire Fi Mi Roots by Noiseshaper


Tune: Chillando Goma by Fulanito


Tune: The African Way by K'Naan

Tune: The Bauls of New York by Zeb

Tune: Fever by Kazi Arindam from the Singing Guitars album via radio Diffusion

Tune: Elephant und Mücke (The Elephant and the Fly - 1918) by Weyert A. Moor and Benjamin Kohon from an Edison phonograph cylinder

Tune: Fire Dub by Yabby You

Tune: Keep it to Yourself by Queen Ifrica

Tune: Scrappy Elephant by elephant Man and Missy ElliotBangers R Mashed on the flip side of the Healing in Vain record

reposted tune:
Tune: Killer in Tunisia has Elephant Man singing over a version Dizzie Gilespies classic Night in Tunisia done by La Sonora Poncena Elephant man was born on 9-11 in the wonderful year of 1975. from Noisybunch records

Tune: More Fire by Mr. Arssen via Esta Bater

Tune: Now that I found you by Munman


Tune: Aki Special by Uproot Andy Via

Get Ready San Francisco for Valenines Day Tormenta Tropical with Uproot Andy.

Tune: elephant message cumbia


Tune: Sweet Mother by Prince Nico Mbarga

Tune: Zimbabwe by Bob Marley

Tune: Abuela Santana by Papá Roncón & Katanga

Tune: O Elefante (SHH remix By Philip Cohan Solal (Gotan Project) & Haaksman) by Ray Barretto