Natural Building Materials

PROBLEM STATEMENT: }While the Mayon Turbo Stove (MTS) uses biowaste as its fuel source, we found the MTS to be unstable, unsafe, required frequent maintenance while cooking and it produced significant amounts of smoke while igniting and extinguishing the fire.

PROJECT GOALS:

1. Design a more efficient and safer stove that burns agricultural waste products.

2. Find locally appropriate design solutions/models that draw upon the local resources of whatever community this stove model is implemented in

3. Establish a working relationship with Working Villages International and/or San Pablo. http://www.workingvillages.org/main.html

PERSONAL GOALS:

1. Learn to weld.

2. Understand the mechanisms and theory of stoves and ther combustion chambers and burn elements.

PROJECT EFFECTS:

  • The community of San Pablo is not in need of a new stove design, but rather educational programs on how to better use the current stoves.

  • New Focus: Working Villages International (WVI)

  • WVI has tried using the MTS but it has not been widely accepted in the community

  • A more efficient biomass stove combustion unit and several stove designs that can be modified for various community partners.

DIVERGENT/CONVERGENT THOUGHT PROCESS: Our team originally wanted to improve ventilation for the smoky homes in San Pablo, Guatemala based on feedback from the previous team’s visit to the community. Upon further inspection, the stoves appear to be in working order and the smoke issue was rather a matter if education of stove use. Therefore, our team has decided to focus on devolving a new stove that combines the Mayon Turbo Stove with a Rocket Stove using agricultural waste for Working Villages International.

Experiment 1

1st Prototype

Next Steps…

Group Members

Ellie Kalman: Fourth year Liberal Studies student graduating with her elementary teaching credential next Fall. She is from San Pedro and enjoys spending quaility time with friends.

Tina Sweeney: Fifth year Liberal Studies student graduating this June with her elementary teaching credential. She is from San Diego and loves to hike mountains.

Stephan Jackson: Originally from San Jose, Stephan is a fourth year City and Regional Planning student. After graduating, he will join the Peace Corps. He likes to swim, read, draw and hike in his free time.

Harrison: Fourth year Landscape Architecture major who has helped on past rose floats. He is from Simi Valley and likes to garden, hike, as well as go fishing.