Check out our video etc at www.indiegogo.com/planetstove Novotera is a social enterprise which is working to provide carbon negative, biochar smokeless cook stoves to remote communities in South-East Asia. In 2009 they started Novotera to contribute to the research and development of biochar stoves. After extensive research into biochar as a feasable way of improving health economic and environmt
al issues, they looked for a stove that would be usable in the conditions where they are most needed (rural peoples cooking with wood). To insure that these biochar stoves were accessible and usable to the people who needed them most, Novotera travelled to remote communities in South East China with sample stoves in hand. After having distributed a number of these stoves, the stove users gave Novotera valuable feedback about how the design could be improved upon. Thus began a 3 year process of creating different models to suite the needs of these local stove users. Along the way Dylan and Olivier learned more about the benefits of these stoves for their users. Although the environmental benefits were clear from the start, the extent and degree of the health benefits only became clear with time. Also, in certain areas these stoves can be used to generate a modest income as well . In 2011 Novotera then made contact with potential users in Laos and Thailand who were very excited about the possibilities which these stoves offered for the improvement of so many people’s lives. In 2012 Novotera started working with researchers at the University of Waterloo to fine tune their stoves for maximum efficiency. Novotera now aims to manufacture and distribute 1000 stoves by early 2013. With this many stoves in operation, governments can more easily be convinced of the benefits of contributing to support this and like projects.
