This is the VOA SpecialEnglish Development Report.
Sawdust is what remains after trees and logs are cut up intoboards for building houses and other structures. In many parts ofthe world, sawdust is considered waste. It is thrown away or leftfor the rain to wash away.
Sawdust is hard to burn, so it is not often thought of as a fuel.Yet it is possible to burn sawdust to provide heat or to cook food.One way is to build a stove from two large containers or drums. Tobuild one, place a one-hundred liter drum inside a two-hundred-literdrum. The smaller drum is held in place by a false floor thatconnects to the larger drum.
Three metal legs support the large drum. The legs hold thestructure above the ground. Beneath the false floor is a space wherethe sawdust fuel is placed. There are holes in the false floorallowing air to pass through.
As the sawdust burns, smoke passes from the small drum that doesnot have a cover to the larger drum that is covered. Pipes areplaced in the wall of the outside drum to carry smoke outside. Thespace for the fuel and the holes in the pipes can be changed if moreor less heat is desired.
To make the fuel, place the sawdust inside a round, woodencontainer that is about one meter across. Leave a hole in themiddle. Make the sawdust hard by hitting it over and over again witha stick or stone. Then remove the wooden container very carefully.
The sawdust keeps the same shape it had when it was inside thewooden container. Place small pieces of paper into the hole. Whenthe paper is lighted with fire from a match, the sawdust around itbegins to burn. It is important that the sawdust be as dry aspossible. With dry sawdust, this stove can heat a small room for sixto eight hours.
During the first two hours of burning, there is enough heat atthe center of the cover on the larger drum to boil water or to cookfood. In addition to sawdust, other kinds of waste from sawmills canbe burned in the stove.
You can get more information about this kind of stove from thegroup Volunteers in Technical Assistance. You can contact VITAthrough the Internet at www.vita.org.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by GaryGarriott.