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Interview with Sanu Kaji Shrestha Foundation for Sustainable Technologies FoST’s plaque reads: In appreciation and recognition of your commitment to advancing the development and production of innovative fuels The Foundation for Sustainable Technologies (FoST) is a non-profit organization that provides low-cost, locally-built sustainable technologies to rural populations in Nepal. FoST invented low-cost, fuel briquettes manufactured at the local level, using household waste, that are tested to ensure low carbon monoxide and particulate emissions. FoST provides training and technical assistance for briquette manufactures and social marketing to thousands of end-users. |
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What is the most exciting aspect of your work?
The most exciting aspect of my work is when I see FoST’s program being adopted by rural communities. It’s thrilling to see them saving fuel wood and other costly fossil fuels (LPG and kerosene), reusing and recycling their own household or community wastes, reducing fuel wood collection time, minimizing chopping trees, protecting the forest, reducing environmental pollution in a local level, and empowering family members through less smoky alternative fuels as briquettes.
What accomplishments are you most proud of?
I am most proud of the achievements gained at the community level, where I’ve found women groups to be enthusiastic and sensitive in creating employment opportunities based on local wastes. I am proud when I see: family members use their time to produce briquettes instead of collecting fire wood in the forest; communities mobilizing their wastes for a good cause; housewives cooking food with the briquettes they made themselves; communities educating students on briquettes in local schools; and family members earning income from the briquette business.
How has PCIA helped you in your work?
Being a PCIA Partner has given us a broad network through which we have been able to promote our activities. The PCIA-organized Forum gave us a good opportunity to share our ideas among Partners as well as create a possible collaborative approach for the promotion of our initiatives.
What did you find most useful about the 2009 PCIA Forum?
The topics presented at the PCIA Forum were very interesting and educational. The most useful to us were: different type of stove designs; techniques of quality and efficiency tests; maintaining indoor air quality; heavy duty rocket stoves for boiling water; and bread making in rocket stoves. FoST has already decided to replicate the rocket stove in Nepal.
What do you want the rest of the household energy community and world to know about briquettes?
As we all know, fuel crisis is becoming a burning issue everywhere: people need fuel for cooking food, and for water and space heating. We have an abundant source of raw materials to produce sufficient fuel from our own waste, which otherwise create environmental problems. I would like to share this with the household energy community: Produce Fuel Briquettes from Your Own Wastes! Any type of paper waste, saw dust, rice husk, sugarcane bagasse, grass, leaves, coconut shells, kitchen wastes including peels and seeds, agricultural and forest residues, paper-based industrial wastes. Process the waste by shredding, cutting, soaking, hammering, pulping, mixing, pressing and drying. Burn the briquettes in mud stoves, briquette stoves, fan operated stoves, gassifier stoves, rocket stoves, and all types of firewood stoves. Briquettes can also be widely sold!
What are your goals for the coming 1-2 years?
My goals are very big. People say "light for all", "water for all"; I say "fuel for all". This is a big challenge and FoST looks forward to collaborative work with and support from others in achieving this goal!