Geoffrey Lemon and Dr. Randy Lewis, Department of Chemical Engineering
Introduction
According to the World Health Organization, one of the leading causes of death in developing countries is respiratory disease, caused by inhalation of particulates from cooking stoves.1 With this challenge in mind, our team of interdisciplinary engineering students worked for over two semesters on designing and implementing a more effective stove for the people in Matinga, Peru. With the help and feedback of faculty members and other teams within our Global Engineering Outreach class, we chose to design a modified “rocket stove.” This design was chosen to more completely combust the fuel, producing a much cleaner burning fire.
Preparation
In order to prepare for our work in Matinga, each one of us was enrolled in the Global Engineering Outreach class, offered through the chemical engineering department. With the help of weekly team meetings and a developed testing schedule, we were able to build and modify several prototypes for better burning stoves. Various materials, dimensions, and layouts were tested to optimize the performance of the stove. We did allow room for variation, as we had been cautioned to remain flexible with our designs. We were prepared for the likely chance that availability of some materials may be limited, and therefore experimented with different workable options. The Spanish-speaking members of our team worked with Hernan, a citizen of Cusco who had agreed to partner with us and Eagle Condor (a local NGO), to try identify resources and needs of the village prior to our departure.
Implementation
Challenges
During our two-week implementation trip, our team met with village and community leaders to discuss their current needs and available resources. One of the biggest struggles when communicating with the older members of the community was the language barrier; many of them only spoke Quechuan and required translators. It was the willingness of the younger members of the community to help that made it possible to communicate our ideas and technologies to the broader audience.
New Design Opportunities
We found that one of the greatest needs was an oven at the school. Previously, bread had been impossible to bake with no ovens, and too expensive to buy from the nearby city, so children just went without. Our team split into two groups to lead the construction of our stove design in one home, and to design and lead construction of an oven in the schoolyard. Though we had not been aware of the need of an oven in the village prior to our arrival, we were well prepared with knowledge of principles like heat transfer and convection as well as designs that we had studied in preparation for our stoves. The final design utilized local materials and technologies: a recycled oil drum retrofitted with rebar shelves surrounded by an insulating adobe brick wall comprised the skeleton of the oven. The oven was placed outside of the school’s kitchen so that none of the smoke would collect and contribute to the existing amount of smoke.
Stove Completion
One of the members of the community, Apolinario volunteered to work with our team and to learn the techniques and technologies so that he could replicate our design for others in his village. Apolinario prepared a platform and taught us how to mix adobe clay, which we found to adhere to the ceramic bricks much better than mortar. This sharing of ideas was an excellent foundation to be able to establish a friendly and open relationship with him, his family, and the community. Again, using locally available materials including sheet metal, ceramic bricks, adobe, and rebar, a stove almost identical to our prototype was implemented in his home.
Conclusion
In our work with the people of Matinga, Peru and in our interdisciplinary team of engineers, we were able gain valuable experience with the design process and cross-cultural engineering solutions. We were able to apply principles learned in our classrooms as well as gain knowledge of engineering principles that we otherwise would not have been exposed to in our individual majors. This project helped to establish communication with several communities in Peru and build foundations for future members of the Global Engineering Outreach class at BYU.
References
[1] Bruce, N., Perez-Padilla, R., and Albalak, R. (2000). “Indoor air pollution in developing countries: a major environmental and public health challenge.” Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 78(9), 1078-1092.