Project Rocket Stove
December 23, 2022
It has been a while since I’ve posted any updates about Andriy and the team’s work in Ukraine.
No, it’s not due to a sudden stopping of aid.
But naturally, a period of intense activity inevitably needs to be followed by some periods of rest. When we caught up over the phone in fall, Andriy told me that in 6 months, they had driven over 130,000kms. And he was exhausted. Thankfully, there came a period where things eased up a bit and he and his team were able to recharge a bit.
Even so, there were trips to recently-liberated Chernihiv in June to bring household goods to people whose homes were severely damaged in the early months of the full-scale invasion. There will be a separate blog post coming with photos and videos from that visit. They made some trips out of the country to collect donated aid, and the nature of the work has now shifted from evacuations to supporting people where they are.
In the fall, everyone in Ukraine was bracing for a challenging winter, which meant stocking up on firewood, extra warm clothing, and sourcing generators if at all possible. These were the three big needs that are guiding the priorities for the team’s work in this next chapter: warmth, energy supply, and food supplies.
Project Rocket Stove
I want to tell you about a very exciting and very important project that the team is fundraising for.
As you may know, russia launched numerous mass airstrikes this fall and winter directly on civilian targets throughout Ukraine, but in particular, on the country’s energy infrastructure. The result is a power grid with significantly reduced capacity, and daily power outages throughout much of the country.
Enter, the homegrown rocket stove.
What is it?
Some of Andriy's contacts came up with an ingenious stove design ideal for the difficult context in much of the country. It’s a kind of rocket stove that consists of three separate pieces:
the fuel chamber/stove
a flat cooktop
a chimney (with an additional venting pipe)
This welded rocket stove…
takes a variety of kindling
very quickly creates and radiates heat
provides a cooktop that can boil water and cook food
is fairly lightweight
creates very little smoke
is easy to assemble/reassemble in case of an airstrike
and can be used both outside and even indoors if necessary.
Below are a few photos of the design of the stove.
Why is it important?
It’s winter, and temperatures are well below freezing in much of Ukraine. Many, many people have no choice but to keep living in places and homes that are partially damaged, exposing them to the cold. Many have to cook outside on open fires and makeshift stoves. Access to the most basic necessity, water, is even a challenge for many.
This stove allows you to gather whatever is around to burn as fuel, and burns it efficiently. It means people can collect snow to melt to quickly boil water for drinking, cleaning, bathing, and to cook food. Staying warm is a matter of survival, and this stove helps meet some basic but critical human needs.
Who is it for?
Stoves like this will be shared with vulnerable people in the most challenging circumstances:
People living close to the front lines of active fighting
People living in damaged or dilapidated homes
Those who are not able to travel or cannot afford access to adequate shelter
Those in recently liberated territories where energy infrastructure is particularly limited
The following video is one Andriy sent a few days ago sent by a volunteer delivering a rocket stove to a woman and her son in Mariupol. It’s hard to imagine living conditions like this.
In Andriy’s Words
In the following video, you can hear Andriy describe the project in his own words (and see how the stove comes together).
How can you help?
Andriy and the team have been making and distributing these throughout Ukraine as they’re able and as they have the resources and funds.
The cost of a stove is $200. That covers the cost of sourcing the material and welding the stove, covering some transportation costs to get it to where it is needed, and providing a small stipend to help support the volunteers making these stoves.
If you would like to donate toward the making and distribution of these very important gifts of warmth, any amount is helpful. Truly.
If you have even just $5 to give, it is all helpful and can all make a difference.
