ETHOS is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose purpose is to facilitate research and the development of appropriate technology by forming collaborative North-South partnerships between universities, research laboratories, engineers, and non-governmental organizations in foreign countries. By working together, these groups aim to create and then disseminate the best available appropriate technology to families in need. Since its founding, the ETHOS partnership has grown to include engineering students, faculty, and researchers as well as on-the-ground NGOs. Research at Colorado State University, Humboldt State University, Iowa State University, the University of California-Berkeley, the University of Dayton, and the University of Illinois currently focuses on improving household cooking stoves, including increasing efficiency and effectiveness while reducing emissions and making cooking technologies safer, as well as addressing problems brought forward by the in-field partners.
Contact Information
ETHOS, through its partner organizations, is currently working in China, Ethiopia, Honduras, India, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, and Uganda.
Our Experience And Interest In The Four PCIA Central Focus Areas
ETHOS is a forum that brings together a diverse group engineers and technologists specializing in combustion, fuel technologies, and engineering design, with social scientists and development specialists working on a wide range of issues including health, air pollution, environmental and energy conservation, gender, and the sociocultural and political aspects of development and appropriate technology. Its major focus and experiences over the last few years has been on the design and implementation of cooking stoves that efficiently and safely utilize locally available fuels. A key vision that brings such a diverse group together is a collective commitment to evolving practical and participatory methods that build upon existing local knowledge (through workshops where women and men learn how to build the stoves and teach their peers how to use them) and hence make technology easily accessible and acceptable to the end users. Over the years, ETHOS members have participated in successful projects with cooking stoves in many communities in Latin America, Africa and Asia. It has also developed long-term relationships with local NGOs and other institutions in many developing countries.
Several members of ETHOS are actively engaged in developing and implementing marketing strategies for reaching improved cooking technologies to the rural people in a sustainable manner. Different socioeconomic conditions demand different approaches, but some common features of the marketing strategies include: active participation of NGOs in entrepreneurial training as well as promotion and publicity, involvement of rural artisans as entrepreneurs, etc. All the commercialization initiatives have received enthusiastic response from the target populations, suggesting that there is a tremendous market potential for the right products, promoted through the right channels.
ETHOS, through its partner organizations, is developing a comprehensive set of testing tools for in-field and in-lab testing of stoves and room heaters in developing countries.
Researchers are gathering data on the level of elevated concentrations caused by cooking inside homes with traditional and improved cook stoves. Measurements are taking place in the field and in the laboratory. Along with harmful emissions and indoor air pollution, ETHOS affiliates are also concerned with other health and safety issues, such as burns caused by open fires.
Relevant Publications or Studies
Design Principles for Wood Burning Cook Stoves, Dean Still, Peter Scott, Geoff Hoffa, Damon Ogle, Rob Bailis, Ken Goyer Wood Burning Heating Stoves, Mark Bryden, Dean Still
Our Contribution to the Partnership
ETHOS is actively searching for challenging technical problems in the area of household energy. We provide a forum for the exchange of ideas, sharing of capabilities and needs, and opportunities to build better household energy tools.
