ExpatPZ

With the cost of energy rising and supplies dwindling, it's up to us to take responsibility not only for our survival, but for our footprint on this beautiful earth as well. One of the ways to do this is by reducing our carbon emissions; and building a rocket stove just may do the trick.  For most of us, at first, it may appear to be beyond our ability- but believe me, it's not.

Upon searching the internet, looking through different designs and methods, I stumbled upon this easy-to-do, build-your-own rocket stove with just 16 bricks.  They suggested using adobe bricks but I just happened to have a few fire bricks laying around.  After watching the video a few times and then toying around with the blocks, I made what looked like a really cool stove.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSMR2ANIZ7E

To my amazement it worked very well.  In fact once it got heated up, the focus turned to it's unique ability to create intense heat for cooking, while using very little wood and making little or no smoke.  The key to success is not overloading with too much wood, using dry materials from twigs to scrap wood,  and patience.  Supplying the fire with a little at a time goes a long way.  My only problem is that I am a two-pot chef so with my extra bricks I built a double burner each with their own fires to regulate the heat individually.

So go ahead and try this very inexpensive and satisfying project and impress yourself and your neighbors.   And do let us know in the comment section below how it worked for you.  By the way, the dinner was delicious, and quite rewarding to know I took care of myself while making little baby sized footprints.