The Manica Charcoal Stove Project

Abstract

A study was conducted by staff and students from the Department of Industrial Design in the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (FADA) at the University of Johannesburg on alternative charcoal stove design under the title Manica Charcoal Stove Project for developing communities. The project was started in support of the principle designs developed for the Maputo Ceramic Charcoal Stove, now known as the Poupa Carvão (POCA) charcoal stove, developed by Crispin Pemberton-Piggott of the Program for Biomass Energy Conservation (ProBEC) which is supported by GIZ. A research group consisting of two academic staff members and four 3rd year Industrial Design students visited the town of Manica in Mozambique in 2008 to complete user field testing and use these results to inform alternative charcoal stove designs. The project falls under the broad area of design for social development and expands on aspects of community centred design developed within the Department of Industrial Design at the University of Johannesburg. This paper briefly describes the research method and the design process used to develop the stove concepts. It discusses aspects related to the design of new charcoal burning stoves and touches on the manufacturing systems available for stove production in the region. It evaluates the principles of user centred design in developing community projects and gives direction to further studies of this kind.