The back of the two room stove will heat a second room. (S. Stevenson (CAMP Kuhiston, Dushanbe))

Two Room Stove (Tajikistan)

Description

A brick stove that is built into the existing internal wall, that will heat the two rooms and can be used for cooking.

The 2-room stove is a brick based structure that filters hot air into a second room, hence maximising the heating potential of the fuel. The basic stove is built of fire bricks, house bricks, cement and coated with a natural mix of straw and mud. It is a traditional concept based upon former soviet stoves, that was modernised and adapted to improve the energy efficiency, and make use of the materials that are available to the people. It is able to burn coal, wood, and tapac, and is designed to reduce the amount of natural resources used to meet the household energy needs.

Purpose of the Technology: The purpose of the 2-room stove is to replace the traditional cast iron pig style of stove, with a more modern and energy efficient stove that can be used effectively for cooking and the heating of two rooms. The 2-room stove is designed to filter the hot air between the rooms and the use the bricks as a thermal sink for heat retention. As most of the houses are made of mud bricks, the heat from the stove will conduct through the walls, which will act as radiators to emit warmth into the room. The 2-room stove also means that cooking activities can be conducted inside the house in a smoke free environment.

Establishment / maintenance activities and inputs: The stove requires basic training in construction by a skilled technician, however after a three day training course the local trades people are able to build their own stoves with limited supervision. The stove is constructed from 45 fire bricks and 400 household bricks, the hot plate and stove doors are bought second hand from the markets, and metal bars are used to reinforce the structure. There are two smoke vents in the wall between the two rooms to allow the smoke to filter its way along the snake like chimney until it vents through the roof. The final structure is coated in straw and mud which acts as an insulation layer.

Natural / human environment: There is a high reliance on natural resources in Shahtuti Bolo. The average family burns several tons of tapac (straw dung mix) and wood each year. The surrounding mountain area is sparsely vegetated and does not even provide enough fuel for the village during the harsh winter months. This is supplemented by buying wood from the neighbouring villages. One tapac weighs one kilo, this is organic matter that can no longer be used for soil enhancement, but for fuel purposes. It is estimated that the 2-room stove will reduce the amount of fuel burnt by 20-40% depending upon the household.

Location

Location: Regional Subordination of Tajikistan, Hakimi Jamoat, Nurobod, Tajikistan

No. of Technology sites analysed:

Geo-reference of selected sites
  • 69.85232, 38.83883

Spread of the Technology: evenly spread over an area (approx. 0.1-1 km2)

In a permanently protected area?:

Date of implementation: less than 10 years ago (recently)

Type of introduction
The front of a two room stove that has been used for two years. There are two cooking rings. (S. Stevenson (CAMP Kuhiston, Dushanbe))

Classification of the Technology

Main purpose
  • improve production
  • reduce, prevent, restore land degradation
  • conserve ecosystem
  • protect a watershed/ downstream areas – in combination with other Technologies
  • preserve/ improve biodiversity
  • reduce risk of disasters
  • adapt to climate change/ extremes and its impacts
  • mitigate climate change and its impacts
  • create beneficial economic impact
  • create beneficial social impact
  • reduce energy
Land use

  • CroplandNumber of growing seasons per year: 1
  • Grazing land
  • Settlements, infrastructure - Settlements, buildings
    Remarks: The technology is implemented in the households
Water supply
  • rainfed
  • mixed rainfed-irrigated
  • full irrigation

Purpose related to land degradation
  • prevent land degradation
  • reduce land degradation
  • restore/ rehabilitate severely degraded land
  • adapt to land degradation
  • not applicable
Degradation addressed
  • soil erosion by water - Wt: loss of topsoil/ surface erosion, Wg: gully erosion/ gullying, Wm: mass movements/ landslides
  • soil erosion by wind - Et: loss of topsoil
  • chemical soil deterioration - Cn: fertility decline and reduced organic matter content (not caused by erosion)
  • biological degradation - Bc: reduction of vegetation cover, Bh: loss of habitats, Bq: quantity/ biomass decline
SLM group
  • energy efficiency technologies
SLM measures
  • structural measures - S11: Others

Technical drawing

Technical specifications

Establishment and maintenance: activities, inputs and costs

Calculation of inputs and costs
  • Costs are calculated: per Technology unit (unit: Stove)
  • Currency used for cost calculation: USD
  • Exchange rate (to USD): 1 USD = n.a
  • Average wage cost of hired labour per day: 4.00
Most important factors affecting the costs
The main cost is the fire bricks. These have to be transported from the capital. However, in some regions of Tajikistan, materials are available from stoves that were constructed several decades ago which could be reused.
Establishment activities
  1. Construction of stove (Timing/ frequency: any)
  2. (Timing/ frequency: None)
Establishment inputs and costs (per Stove)
Specify input Unit Quantity Costs per Unit (USD) Total costs per input (USD) % of costs borne by land users
Labour
Construction of stove Persons/day 6.0 5.333333 32.0 100.0
Equipment
Tools pieces 5.0 4.0 20.0
Construction material
Bricks bricks 400.0 0.225 90.0
Fire bricks bricks 45.0 1.4 63.0
Metal bar bars 5.0 3.4 17.0
Fire cement cub m 3.0 8.333333 25.0
Ceramic tiles tiles 24.0 1.0 24.0
Metal cooking plates plates 1.0 63.0 63.0
Stove doors doors 2.0 22.5 45.0
Other
Transports vans 1.0 50.0 50.0
Total costs for establishment of the Technology 429.0
Total costs for establishment of the Technology in USD 429.0
Maintenance activities
  1. Cleaning the stove (Timing/ frequency: annually)
Maintenance inputs and costs (per Stove)
Specify input Unit Quantity Costs per Unit (USD) Total costs per input (USD) % of costs borne by land users
Labour
Cleaning the stove Persons/day 1.0 4.0 4.0 100.0
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology 4.0
Total costs for maintenance of the Technology in USD 4.0

Natural environment

Average annual rainfall
  • < 250 mm
  • 251-500 mm
  • 501-750 mm
  • 751-1,000 mm
  • 1,001-1,500 mm
  • 1,501-2,000 mm
  • 2,001-3,000 mm
  • 3,001-4,000 mm
  • > 4,000 mm
Agro-climatic zone
  • humid
  • sub-humid
  • semi-arid
  • arid
Specifications on climate
Thermal climate class: temperate
Slope
  • flat (0-2%)
  • gentle (3-5%)
  • moderate (6-10%)
  • rolling (11-15%)
  • hilly (16-30%)
  • steep (31-60%)
  • very steep (>60%)
Landforms
  • plateau/plains
  • ridges
  • mountain slopes
  • hill slopes
  • footslopes
  • valley floors
Altitude
  • 0-100 m a.s.l.
  • 101-500 m a.s.l.
  • 501-1,000 m a.s.l.
  • 1,001-1,500 m a.s.l.
  • 1,501-2,000 m a.s.l.
  • 2,001-2,500 m a.s.l.
  • 2,501-3,000 m a.s.l.
  • 3,001-4,000 m a.s.l.
  • > 4,000 m a.s.l.
Technology is applied in
  • convex situations
  • concave situations
  • not relevant
Soil depth
  • very shallow (0-20 cm)
  • shallow (21-50 cm)
  • moderately deep (51-80 cm)
  • deep (81-120 cm)
  • very deep (> 120 cm)
Soil texture (topsoil)
  • coarse/ light (sandy)
  • medium (loamy, silty)
  • fine/ heavy (clay)
Soil texture (> 20 cm below surface)
  • coarse/ light (sandy)
  • medium (loamy, silty)
  • fine/ heavy (clay)
Topsoil organic matter content
  • high (>3%)
  • medium (1-3%)
  • low (<1%)
Groundwater table
  • on surface
  • < 5 m
  • 5-50 m
  • > 50 m
Availability of surface water
  • excess
  • good
  • medium
  • poor/ none
Water quality (untreated)
  • good drinking water
  • poor drinking water (treatment required)
  • for agricultural use only (irrigation)
  • unusable
Water quality refers to:
Is salinity a problem?
  • Ja
  • Nee

Occurrence of flooding
  • Ja
  • Nee
Species diversity
  • high
  • medium
  • low
Habitat diversity
  • high
  • medium
  • low

Characteristics of land users applying the Technology

Market orientation
  • subsistence (self-supply)
  • mixed (subsistence/ commercial)
  • commercial/ market
Off-farm income
  • less than 10% of all income
  • 10-50% of all income
  • > 50% of all income
Relative level of wealth
  • very poor
  • poor
  • average
  • rich
  • very rich
Level of mechanization
  • manual work
  • animal traction
  • mechanized/ motorized
Sedentary or nomadic
  • Sedentary
  • Semi-nomadic
  • Nomadic
Individuals or groups
  • individual/ household
  • groups/ community
  • cooperative
  • employee (company, government)
Gender
  • women
  • men
Age
  • children
  • youth
  • middle-aged
  • elderly
Area used per household
  • < 0.5 ha
  • 0.5-1 ha
  • 1-2 ha
  • 2-5 ha
  • 5-15 ha
  • 15-50 ha
  • 50-100 ha
  • 100-500 ha
  • 500-1,000 ha
  • 1,000-10,000 ha
  • > 10,000 ha
Scale
  • small-scale
  • medium-scale
  • large-scale
Land ownership
  • state
  • company
  • communal/ village
  • group
  • individual, not titled
  • individual, titled
Land use rights
  • open access (unorganized)
  • communal (organized)
  • leased
  • individual
Water use rights
  • open access (unorganized)
  • communal (organized)
  • leased
  • individual
Access to services and infrastructure
health

poor
x
good
education

poor
x
good
technical assistance

poor
x
good
employment (e.g. off-farm)

poor
x
good
markets

poor
x
good
energy

poor
x
good
roads and transport

poor
x
good
drinking water and sanitation

poor
x
good
financial services

poor
x
good

Impacts

Socio-economic impacts
Crop production
decreased
x
increased

wood production
decreased
x
increased

energy generation (e.g. hydro, bio)
decreased
x
increased


Improved cooking conditions i.e. no smoke.

workload
increased
x
decreased

Demand on natural resources
improved
x
reduced


On average around 30% reduction

Socio-cultural impacts
health situation
worsened
x
improved


Do not need to cook outside and improve the internal living conditions.

community institutions
weakened
x
strengthened


Leaves natural resources for the community benefit.

conflict mitigation
worsened
x
improved


Helps prevent inter village conflicts over natural resources.

situation of socially and economically disadvantaged groups (gender, age, status, ehtnicity etc.)
worsened
x
improved


The project is targeted at the most vulnerable in the community.

Livelihood and human well-being
reduced
x
improved


It has reduced the time, effort and money spent on fuel whcih can be up to 50% of the household's budget in extreme cases. It has improved the heating in the household and created a smoke free environment for cooking.

Ecological impacts
soil cover
reduced
x
improved

biomass/ above ground C
decreased
x
increased


Reduction in the burning of dung.

Off-site impacts

Cost-benefit analysis

Benefits compared with establishment costs
Short-term returns
very negative
x
very positive

Long-term returns
very negative
x
very positive

Benefits compared with maintenance costs
Short-term returns
very negative
x
very positive

Long-term returns
very negative
x
very positive

There is a high initial outlay in the building materials and labour costs, but once the two room stove is constructed it only requires annual cleaning which can be done via hatches already included in the design.

Climate change

Gradual climate change
annual temperature increase

not well at all
x
very well
Climate-related extremes (disasters)
local rainstorm

not well at all
x
very well
local windstorm

not well at all
x
very well
drought

not well at all
x
very well
general (river) flood

not well at all
x
very well
Other climate-related consequences
reduced growing period

not well at all
x
very well

Adoption and adaptation

Percentage of land users in the area who have adopted the Technology
  • single cases/ experimental
  • 1-10%
  • 11-50%
  • > 50%
Of all those who have adopted the Technology, how many have done so without receiving material incentives?
  • 0-10%
  • 11-50%
  • 51-90%
  • 91-100%
Number of households and/ or area covered
10 households in an area of 0.1 - 1 km2 (ca. 596 habitants)
Has the Technology been modified recently to adapt to changing conditions?
  • Ja
  • Nee
To which changing conditions?
  • climatic change/ extremes
  • changing markets
  • labour availability (e.g. due to migration)

Conclusions and lessons learnt

Strengths: land user's view
  • It keep the house warm and for longer.

    How can they be sustained / enhanced? Thermal insulation techniques and energy efficiency training may support reduced fuel use.
  • I do not have to cook outside in the winter months.
  • It is easy to clean.
Strengths: compiler’s or other key resource person’s view
  • It improved the household heating system dramatically, as the previous cast iron stove does not retain the heat after the fire dies.

    How can they be sustained / enhanced? The room could be insulated using traditional techniques or modern materials that are starting to appear on the market.
  • The brick design will retain the heat for several hours and will heat two rooms.

    How can they be sustained / enhanced? Doors and windows in the rooms could be sealed to prevent drafts.
  • The stove will last for 25yrs with minimal maintenance.

    How can they be sustained / enhanced? If the stove became popular a small brick making factory could be established.
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: land user's viewhow to overcome
  • It is expensive, and I need an expert to help me. Remittances could be used to fund the initial set up costs.
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: compiler’s or other key resource person’s viewhow to overcome
  • There is a high initial investment that has required project funding. Collective building of the stoves will reduce the cost. Micro-finance loans could be made available to help cover the initial costs.
  • The stove requires technical training in its construction. A booklet could be produced to support self building of the stoves.

References

Compiler
  • shane stevenson
Editors
Reviewer
  • Alexandra Gavilano
  • David Streiff
  • Joana Eichenberger
Date of documentation: Julie 11, 2011
Last update: Nov. 2, 2021
Resource persons
Full description in the WOCAT database
Linked SLM data
Documentation was faciliated by
Institution Project
This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareaAlike 4.0 International