permaculture

[Toby Hemenway <toby@patternliteracy.com>]

On 5/8/07 2:27 AM, "mossmans"  wrote:

> Then there is the attraction of fire, it looks and is warm, it is something
> to gather around and talk in front of.
> 
> The cultural aspect of fire is greater than a solar box cooker.
> 
> Sue
> 

Very good point. Also, a box cooker requires manufacturing. For the backing
you need cardboard, plywood, etc. I suppose if you were determined you could
weave branches or some such for the frame, though you'd lose focusing
efficiency. The mylar or mirrors need high temperature, pretty high-tech
fabrication (there's a boatload of energy right there: I wonder how long the
payback is). That's far beyond a village technology and makes people
dependent on non-regional, and often international, resources. It could be
useful to get people thinking about solar, though. Whereas fire takes
virtually no technology if you go to the trouble of a bow drill or just keep
some embers going. And you can use local clay or adobe to build a pretty
efficient stove. That's the key: really efficient combustion, not a
campfire.

An interesting discussion--how technology, resources, and culture interact.

Toby
http://patternliteracy.com