Rocket Stove Progress Report

On Wednesday 21 March 2012 our speaker was Eileen Eggington of the Malawi Association for Christian Support (www.malawimacs.org) who came to give us a report on the work of MACS and an update on our Rocket Stove and Cooking Pot project with them. Our stove and pot – one of three being installed – has been manufactured and paid for, and is now awaiting transport to the school in Malawi where it will be used. The phrase “awaiting transport” hardly does justice to the current situation in Malawi however. The transport has been allocated a truck in the shipping company, but there is no fuel available in the capital. We were told that the truck queued for a full day in a long line at a petrol station only to be told that the supply had run out before the truck got to the pump. The stove and pot when delivered will make a significant difference in the school since it will make much more efficient use of the wood used for cooking than the present arrangements – an open fire supported by a electric oven which is too expensive to run. Eileen told us that a litre of fuel there costs about £1.50, and the average daily wage is about half of that. Eileen showed us a selection of videos demonstrating that although life is very hard in Malawi, there is a buoyant, optimistic approach to life among the population. Thank you Eileen for your report. (You can find out more about Rocket Stoves at www.rocketstove.org)