Hello all, this is Robert.

Amidst all the terribly disturbing news about the elephant massacre in the park and the continued burning of the Virunga forests for illegal charcoal, there actually is some good news. First off, I want to thank those of you that donated your hard earned money to help us this month: Carrie A. $100, Carmen E. $40 and our anonymous donor who contributed $50. Thank you!!

BSH - WildlifeDirect Alliance
We have finalized and signed an agreement with Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH (BSH) to bring 100 of their Protos plant oil stoves to Goma for a pilot test. We are working hard to get the shipping from Nanjing, China to Mombasa/Goma in order. As you might imagine, there is a lot of paperwork required to get our shipment successfully through customs. The BIVAC certificate, our biggest hurdle, should be issued soon, and once it has, the shipment will be on its way to Goma.

Protos Stove Training
In the beginning of June, we plan to attend an intensive one-week training at Visayas State University in Cebu, Philippines. The Philippines are the site of BSH’s largest Protos project, and as such, the best place for training. Our training will include operation and maintenance of the Protos plant oil stove, fabrication of Protos parts, strategy of marketing the Protos plant oil stove, Jatropha seedling production and plantation establishment, and process & equipment for the production of plant oils from coconut, and Jatropha, and other oil plants.

We will also be spending a significant amount of time with the local villagers using the stoves on a day-to-day basis, in hopes of getting those critical pieces of advice that only come from those who are using the stoves in a real-world, rural setting.

Biomass Briquettes as a Charcoal Alternative
As reported a few weeks ago, I put together my own briquette with the help of the Legacy Foundation. Virginia and I had several back-and-forth Skype sessions (her building a press in Bukavu and me building mine in Boulder), in an effort to make sure that we both ended up with a briquette press and not a go-kart. As many of you know, she got her press back from the wood shop, and they did a great job — true craftsmen. She and the abused women that she is working with are making great headway. See for yourself. The press I made came out fine, but I wouldn’t put myself in the same league as the Congolese wood workers.

Laying out the grid for the piston cylinder holes which let water exit during pressing

Drilling the first holes. Only 210 to go…

The finished press. The piston and cylinder gets placed on the bottom beam.

The Briquette Challenges Ahead
Creating biomass briquettes that fully combust and don’t create too much smoke is one of the big challenges. Scrap paper, which acts as a binder, makes for easy briquette making, but the downside is excess smoke. Briquettes made of grass and leaves tends to burn cleaner, but require up to a few weeks of composting before the feedstock can be pressed. None of these issues are unsurmountable, but it will take time to get the hang of making the perfect briquette.

Another issue is output. Although a single press with 6 workers can put out 1000 briquettes per day, we will have to find a way to increase production to the point of being able to compete with charcoal. I have been sending out all sorts of inquiries and doing Google searches, trying to find a more automated way to produce the briquettes. And, although I haven’t found anyone mass producing briquettes yet, the inquiries have led me to many of the experts in the field of briquetting and high-efficiency stoves.

Today, for example, I spoke with people at the University of Colorado Engineering School who are working in this area. In fact, a group of them is leaving for Nepal tomorrow to head up a briquette and stove project in Eastern Nepal. I also spoke with someone at Colorado State University’s Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory. Among projects like creating biofuel from algae, they are also working on high-efficiency stoves for developing countries. And, of course, the Legacy Foundation and it’s network of briquetters and stove makers continues to provide invaluable guidance. With minds like this working the issue, I can’t help but be optimistic amidst the recent rash of bad news.

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