Did you know?

• Improved cooking stoves can address at least 5 of the 8 Millennium Development Goals that the United Nations is working to meet by 2015?  Stoves can help with maternal and child health, gender equality, and environmental sustainability.
• 
  It takes only about 3 ARC rocket stoves to offset 1 average American's driving habits for 1 year? Or just 13 stoves to offset an American's entire annual footprint? At about $10 per stove, this is one of the least expensive options for slowing climate change. Read A laboratory comparison of the global warming impact of five major types of biomass cooking stove to find out more.
• 
  According to Scientific American, the dominant source of the black carbon that is both polluting the skies over Asia and accelerating the melting of glaciers is the soot emitted from traditional cooking fires? Soot is causing the "brown cloud" over Asia, and collecting on the glaciers causing them to darken and melt faster. Similar articles have recently been published in the New York Times and BBC.
  
• 
  Prince Charles is an environmentalist? This year, he delivered a keynote speech and awarded prizes to organizations that are sharing knowledge of sustainable energy solutions. ARC won first place as "energy champion." Read more about the award or watch the video posted on the right.
  
• 
  Aprovecho Research Center is working on two new exciting stove developments. The fan-assisted rocket stove can reduce emissions by 95% and the 5-year stove can hold up to rigorous use for 5 years, reducing about 10 tons of carbon in its lifetime? Contact us for more details. We will also post more information on the site soon.

For decades, Aprovecho Research Center has been the world's leader in open source development of all aspects of improved cooking stoves. ARC's goal is to empower people to help each other and the planet.

StoveTec

StoveTec was created in the fall of 2008 as a not-just-for-profit entity to act as the technology transfer recipient for the Aprovecho Research Center. ARC has worked for 30 years to design and build improved cook stoves and has completed over 100 projects in 60 countries. ARC designed StoveTec stoves with cooks to assure that cooks all over the world would love the stove.

Current technologies designed by ARC and represented by StoveTec include Improved Rocket Cook Stoves, the Portable Emissions Measurement System (PEMS) and the Indoor Air Pollution/Exposure Meter (IAP Meter).

International Stove Design Consulting and Training

Our consultants travel to cities and villages around the world to provide technical assistance and training to NGOs and local groups developing and disseminating improved stove technology.

We have current and past projects in Mexico, Central America, South America, Africa, India, the Philippines and more.

Emissions Testing and Evaluation

We operate a state of the art laboratory facility for testing stoves. Testing and reports on fuel use, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and greenhouse gas emissions from a variety of improved cook stoves are available to projects, with examples here for download.

Portable in-field emissions testing equipment is also available for use in-country to monitor indoor air pollution. Read more about stove testing and this equipment.

Research and Development

The Advanced Studies in Appropriate Technology (ASAT) Lab studies methods for designing, building, and disseminating cooking and heating technology that is both mass-produced and/or made from vernacular (locally available) low cost materials that can be found easily in the towns and villages where improved stoves are needed.

Publications and Media

We develop educational books, videos, and other media using simple, easy to understand language to teach methods and principles for designing and disseminating improved cooking and heating stoves.

Review the list of ARC publications availabe for download or visit the ARC Research Library for reports and other information relevant to the issues ARC strives to address.

Partnership for Clean Indoor Air

One of the heroes of the Stove Movement is Dr. Tom Reed, who has inspired all of us for many years. Many, many people are trying very hard to relieve suffering by providing better stoves to the two to three billion people in the world who use biomass for cooking. The Partnership for Clean Indoor Air is leading the international effort to use biomass more effectively and safely. Improved cooking stoves can help to reduce deforestation, to reduce the serious health impacts of inhaling smoke, and improved cook stoves can reduce the Global Warming effects that are threatening our planet.

Dr. Reed has been reminding folks that it will take lots of stoves to significantly address these problems. We hope that our efforts can help to create a more sustainable future.