:: Specific Design Brief

Practical Action 5: Sustainable Cooking

PRODUCT DESIGN SRI LANKA

GENERIC DESIGN CONTEXT
Cooking outdoors on an open fire is a summer treat in many northern hemisphere countries it. In the southern hemisphere it is often their way of life. Investigate existing practices of open-fire cooking and design and make a cooking stove which is as fuel-efficient as possible.

SPECIFIC DESIGN BRIEF
In many areas of Sri Lanka, people use a three- stone open fire to cook and boil water for both domestic use and in small catering enterprises. Design and make a fuel-efficient cooking stove appropriate for Sri Lanka, using materials and techniques available locally.

FURTHER INFORMATION
Click on ‘Sustainable Cooking’, that gives information about traditional cooking methods in Sri Lanka, and some of the stoves that have been developed there. It gives background information about the sorts of materials available for producing stoves, and the skills and equipment available in the area.

CLIENT DETAILS
Practical Action has offices in Colombo, Sri Lanka and also works in partnership with other local organisations interested in fuel-efficient cooking. Practical Action has its headquarters in the UK and it would be your first point of contact. Email the education team at [email protected] or telephone 01926-634441. If they are unable to answer your questions, they will contact Practical Action South-East Asia, or one of the people directly involved in fuel-efficient, energy-saving cooking.

SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES
• Conservation of wood as a fuel source is especially important in areas of short supply and where trees are not being replaced.
• Three stone fires present numerous hazards both in safety and health so any method that reduces smoke impact would be helpful.
• Producing stoves that could be made and sold locally would enhance traditional skills and provide employment opportunities.
• Three stone fires are very fuel inefficient and hard to control.

FURTHER INFORMATION
ENERGY SOURCES
METHODS

If you decide to work on this design brief, don't forget to consider the issues of sustainability in the different phases of your designing and making.
Click here to access Sustain-a-balls