Tech Training in Thies

We've been in Thies for three days for technical training, and today we head back to our village. We covered a variety of topics including village survey and assessment techniques, safety and security, understanding the Senegalese education system and of course more vaccinations...but the best session by far was working on improved stoves.

We focused on two main types of stoves, both designed to decrease the amount of wood needed to cook in order to help combat deforestation and reduce the amount of time women have to spend collecting wood. Mud stoves reduce fuel usage by up to a third, are really fun to build and the materials are completely free, but they require a fair bit of maintenance and are rather labor intensive. Rocket stoves reduce fuel usage by up to 50 percent and also reduce the amount of smoke and carbon monoxide women are exposed to, require very little maintenance, can be made mostly with materials found in the trash. They are a little more complicated to construct but require less overall labor and very little maintenance.

Mud Stove
2 parts clay
1 part manure
.5 parts sand
Mix with water as needed

Step 1: build a base and select three rocks to support the pot

Step 2: Build up the walls with balls of the clay mixture, use an old tomato can to make space to insert the fuel and punch two holes in the back to allow for ventilation

Step 3: Smear with a baobab sap and water mixture to protect it

Step 4: Allow finished stove to dry for 12 days before using


Rocket Stove
1 Piece tin sheeting (600cfa ~ $1.50)
3 large tomato paste cans
1 small tomato paste can
Wood ash for insulation