Pamoja Inc

Mission

We support communities to address their issues in such areas as health, natural resource management and income generation. In terms of domestic energy, we concentrate on whole Jatropha seed as fuel in top-lit up draft cook stoves, in partnership with Jet City StoveWorks of Seattle (USA). This work is starting in Tanzania in the framework of a project called Jatropha Agriculture and Nutrition Inititative (JANI), funded by US Department of Agriculture, under a grant to Partners for Development.

In 2011 we will begin producing Jatropha seed gasifier stoves (JSGS) in Tanzania, field testing them with women in various settings, and then hopefully scale up production when we are sure of cultural acceptability,optimized performance, and cost-effective fabrication. We have requests for collaboration in a dozen other counties, but feel the need to prove the concept in one location before expanding.

Organization Type Non-Governmental Organization

Contact Information

Primary Contact
 Jonathan Otto
ottojonathan@hotmail.com 		Secondary Contact

Address 1462 Green Mt Turnpike
Chester, VT
05143
United States 		Website www.pamoja.net
Phone 802-8751041
Fax
Calling/Fax Instructions

Our Focus

Primary Initiatives, Target Populations, and Scope of Work:

JANI works with over 20,000 Jatropha growers who plant this drought-hardy long-lived perennial tropical shrub in hedgerows around fields and homesteads. We would like to move from an initial test of 50 stoves in coming months to several thousand by early 2012.

Fuels/Technologies: Biomass
 Sectors of Experience: Renewable Energy
Rural Development
 Countries of Operation: Tanzania
Uganda

Our Experience And Interest In The Four PCIA Central Focus Areas

Social/Cultural barriers to using traditional fuels and stoves:

So far the main concerns have centered on perceptions that Jatropha is a low-value plant, useful only to demarcate territory, that stoves will be too expensive for most users, and that women may not be willing to abandon familiar cooking methods. Field testing and costing done in actual stove production will address these concerns, but our experience is limited to date.

Market development for improved cooking technologies:

We have no experience in this area as yet.

Technology standardization for cooking, heating and ventilation:

Again, this is an issue we will face in the future.

Indoor air pollution exposure and health monitoring:

Our partner, Jet City StoveWorks, has a deep interest in measuring emissions, and is building a portable IAP unit that will be used in Africa to monitor stove performance under real-life conditions.

Relevant Publications or Studies

None noted

Our Contribution to the Partnership

We will bring our knowledge and gladly share what we learn.