EcoZoom
EcoZoom is a social venture that works with NGOs, governments, aid organizations and local businesses and entrepreneurs who want to put stoves into the hands of people who need them.
“The EcoZoom stove range will save 50% of your monthly wood fuel bill…or your money back!”
When an order is placed we courier the stoves overnight from Durban to any destination in KwaZulu-Natal. For orders outside the KZN province we can put you in touch with other distributors in your area or contact us.
EcoZoom is now the exclusive distributor for developing countries for the Aprovecho Research Center and StoveTec. The former sales and distribution arm of StoveTec, established the EcoZoom brand to rapidly increase the distribution of improved cookstoves. Three billion people in the world need a safer, healthier, cheaper way to cook; EcoZoom is part of the movement to make that happen. EcoZoomc Stoves burn cleaner, use less fuel, and are more economical than any other stove of their kind. 
It’s based on the rocket stove design principle, invented by Dr. Larry Winiarski from Aprovecho Research Center (ARC) USA (http://www.ecozoomstove.com/rem-products.php). The original StoveTec range of stoves was launched in 2008 and Aprovecho won the prestigious Ashden International Energy Champion Award for 2009. They have disseminated over 70,000 stoves to impoverished communities in the last year and have a production capacity of 500,000 per year. The first StoveTec stoves arrived on the market in 2008 and they are all still going strong! Some of the benefits that this stove has over other wood stoves:
*Boils 5 Litres of Water in 20 Minutes
*Spend Less Time Cooking
*Uses 40-50% Less Fuel
*Spend Less Time Collecting Wood
*Spend Less Money Buying Wood
*Burns 50-70% Cleaner
*Breathe Less Smoke, fewer Health Risks
The stove can be used with a variety of fuel types in addition to wood including dried corn cobs, grass, roots, dung or any other readily available biomass. We also sell the 2-door stove which has a durable cast iron grate that filters out ash (and produces charcoal) and this specific model can also accommodate the use of charcoal or charcoal briquettes. The stove is Lightweight, has an Abrasion-Resistant Combustion Chamber, Cast Iron Top which Heats Pots Faster, Easy-to-Clean Steel Body, Sturdy Handles for Easy Movement, Steel Shelf to Support Fuel and Pot Skirt for Maximum Efficiency.
Click on this image to play GIF animation explaining how a rocket stove functions
Or view the JPG here
For more explanations and information also visit this page: What is a rocket stove? which also contains links to other rocket stove designs.
“La Mera Mera (Plancha) cook stove arrives in South Africa!”
The new La Mera Mera (Plancha) stove consists of a cast iron stove top, whereby the cook may choose to cook on an open flame or vent the flames externally via an external chimney. For more information click on the image below, which will take you to an information leaflet.
Note: Only 15 La Mera Mera stoves have landed in South Africa over the Christmas period. Secure your stove now by filling in the order form lower down on the page.
Installations
Vuthisa Technologies can assist farm owners in assessing their village cooking needs and overseeing installations of the EcoZoom cookstove range into homes with or without external venting chimneys. The farm owner can look forward to seeing a 50% reduction in his firewood collection and handling costs, because the EcoZoom stove uses 50% less fuel than other stoves on the market. The actual stove users will be delighted to have less smoke in their homes, they will need to stockpile less wood and they are able to cook their food faster. A win-win situation for everybody involved. 
Before the La Mera Mera (Plancha) came onto the market, the usually loose standing stoves were cemented into custom-made docking stations to serve as 2-pot or 3-pot stoves. Above each station is a hood that collects the emissions and channels it towards the chimney. The stoves are operated with just a few sticks of wood and will only occasionally give off smoke, such as when started up or when adding new wood. We can provide the specifications for the formwork used to cast the concrete docking stations and the plans for the metal hoods as per above photo.
See this short video clip of some happy StoveTec users:
See this video on YouTube showing how the stove should be operated and to achieve improved fuel efficiency.
or visit this URL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay8dD2LjdZo
See my interview with Annie from Xtranormal 
or visit this URL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay8dD2LjdZo
To obtain this stove at the Retail Price, you can do one of two things:
1) Visit Midlands Solar Sales in Pietermaritzburg (Next to Cash Converters)
Shop 15
Victoria Square
151 Victoria Road
Tel: 033-3425896
2) Order this stove directly from us by filling in this order form:
Once you have completed and submitted the order form, we will compile your invoice which will include the cost of the stove, delivery cost (based on the geographical location you supplied) and email it back to you. Upon payment (Cash deposit, EFT or Cheque) we will endeavor to get the stove delivered to you within 3 to 5 days. The stove which weighs 9 kg will be delivered to your nearest post office. For bulk orders we will investigate all avenues for a reduced stove unit and delivery rate. We only deliver within South Africa at this stage.
For those looking to become distributors or wishing to donate stoves kindly click on this link: Contact Us.
Thank you for your interest.
**Update: 17 April 2011**
Vuthisa recently installed 90 wood-burning stoves in a village in Ixopo, KwaZulu-Natal. The management company could see the benefit of purchasing approximately 14 X StoveTec wood/charcoal stoves for the price of 1 X reconditioned cast-iron wood-burning stove and can carry the same workload at the same time. These usually loose standing stoves were cemented into custom-made docking stations to serve as 3-pot stoves i.e. 3 stoves in each home or docking station. Above each station is a hood that collects the emissions and channels it towards the chimney. The stoves are operated with just a few sticks of wood and will only occasionally give off smoke, such as when started up or when adding new wood. This particular village is connected to the electricity grid but the management company had no option but to leave it offline and revert to using wood in light of the annual electricity hikes imposed by Eskom. Visit the installations page: http://vuthisa.com/news/rocket-stove/ for info on existing projects.
**Update: 20 December 2010**
The Journal of the International Energy Initiative, Volume 14, no.3, recently published (September, 2010) “Field testing and survey evaluation of household biomass cookstoves in rural sub-Saharan Africa” by Edwin Adkins, Erika Tyler, Jin Wang, David Siriri, Vijay Modi of Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. The conclusion reached was that the StoveTec stove was voted the best stove by the participants of the study in both Uganda and Tanzania…
Abstract
“This paper presents the results of two studies conducted to evaluate the performance and usability of household biomass cookstoves under field conditions in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Cooking tests and qualitative surveys compared improved, manufactured stove models based on the ‘rocket’ design with the traditional three-stone fire. All tests and interviews took place in household kitchens in two village areas in Western Uganda and Western Tanzania…”
Conclusion
“The fuel saving benefits of the improved stoves were generally clear and quantifiable, and, the imported stoves were seen as preferable to the threestone fire. The StoveTec performed the best overall, with substantial fuelwood savings for all cooking tests and high user rankings in both studies. Though the other three stoves were not compared directly against one another, results suggest that the Envirofit stove ranked second, overall, while the two locally-made stoves were ranked lower, in one case below the three-stone fire.”
**Update: 3 December 2010**
Vuthisa is announced as the StoveTec Dealer of the month (December) by the StoveTec Importer in South Africa. This is what the importer had to say:
“Congratulations to Kobus Venter, our Retailer of the Month for December. Kobus was one of Restio’s first agents for the award-winning StoveTec stoves. He has been active in setting up rural entrepreneurs for the stoves in-and-around Pietermaritzburg – liaising with local municipalities, hosting training workshops, exhibiting the stoves at a number of expos and festivals, etc. This month, Kobus attended a ‘fuel briquette producers workshop’ in Arusha (Tanzania) where he spoke about combustion issues and the wonders of the StoveTec stove. Kindly refer to Kobus’ blog to read more about the workshop and view some fantastic photos: http://vuthisa.com/2010/11/19/briquetteproducers-workshop-arusha-tanzania-2010/. Your free StoveTec stove will be included in your next order. Keep up the inspiring work, Kobus!”
**Update: 19 November 2010**
Vuthisa attends a briquette producers workshop in Arusha, Tanzania – http://vuthisa.com/2010/11/19/briquette-producers-workshop-arusha-tanzania-2010/
**Update: 02 June 2010**
**News article: Interview with Dean Still (Aprovecho) – To achieve cookstove scale we need standards. Lack of standards may be the reason why less than 10 million stoves were deployed in 2009, according to the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air. The figure is woefully below the 177 million units that the WHO says must be distributed to cut in half the number of people without access to improved stoves worldwide**
See full article here:
http://www.charcoalproject.org/2010/06/to-achieve-cookstove-scale-we-need-standards/
**Update: 31 March 2010**
Vuthisa has partnered up with Thandanani Children’s Foundation in supplying StoveTec stoves to poor households in the Pietermaritzburg and Richmond areas of KwaZulu-Natal. Thandanani has a network of volunteers that provide care and support for families with orphans and vulnerable children, households identified as being in dire need of emergency assistance, facilitating access to fee remissions, social grants and other forms of government support, facilitating the establishment of volunteer driven income-generating projects, to name but just a few of the services they offer.
The volunteers, as their name imply, volunteer their own time and travel expense to visit above families in question for very little remuneration. We wanted to know whether or not the volunteers would be interested in signing up as sales agents as an incentive to get word out about the remarkable StoveTec wood stove, so we arranged cooking demonstrations. The feedback we received was very encouraging and many are interested in taking delivery of demonstration stoves in order to give demonstrations in their own respective areas.
Demonstration to volunteers – Click on image to view slideshow
Further training sessions and demonstrations will be scheduled. To find out how you can help or get involved with this initiative or Thandanani Children’s Foundation’s worthy cause, please contact Nhlanhla on nhlanhla@thandanani.org.za.
We are available to do demonstrations in your area, be it for income-generation or to show people under your employ how the stove works. Contact us at ventfory@iafrica.com or visit the Contact Us page to get more contact information.
**Update: 02 February, 2010**
**News article: More information on StoveTec wood stoves – a brief history, courtesy of Voice of America News**
Article or to listen to show: http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/2010-01-31-voa2.cfm
**Update: 24 January, 2010**
**News article – Cottage Grove Businesses Send Bio-Stoves to Haiti – courtesy of KEZI 9.2 - 24/7 nonstop news**
Video and article: http://kezi.com/page/159736
Before you leave! Please take part in my poll:
Patrick Soltes said,
March 1, 2010 @ 8:15 pm
Hello, Enjoyed your video. Could I receive some pricing on your stoves. Thanks, Patrick
Kobus Venter said,
March 1, 2010 @ 10:29 pm
Thanks Patrick, glad you enjoyed it. The stove is sold online in South Africa for R 300. See ordering procedure at the end of the page. For other countries StoveTec Head Office (USA) should be able to direct you to a local supplier or sell it to you directly – visit http://www.stovetec.net. Take care. I am planning to upload some more videos in the future – be sure to check back.
**Update**
See this video of my charcoal stove:
Langa said,
March 18, 2010 @ 11:58 pm
I’ve been doing a lot of research on this technology and i’m glad that it exists in our country. Can i assist with marketing it in the rural Eastern Cape. If yes, what do i need to do.
Kobus Venter said,
March 19, 2010 @ 9:50 am
I have been involved with stove development for 10 years now and I wouldn’t promote anything I did not believe in. As far as you doing marketing on your side you can purchase from me and resell there but putting your markup on will place the stove out of reach of the user. I suggest you find a sponsor i.e. round table; rotary or funding institution to fund a trial program. I can give you support with regards to an action plan and training of sales people, marketing etc. Hope that helped, and it’s good to have your support.
Is it better to burn wood or charcoal? « said,
September 5, 2010 @ 12:28 am
[...] the StoveTec stove which is very fuel efficient (conserves wood) and emits 70% less smoke. Visit http://vuthisa.com/news/stovetec for more [...]
Briquette Producers Workshop – Arusha (Tanzania) 2010 « said,
November 19, 2010 @ 3:59 pm
[...] ratios to effect optimum stove performance. We had two stoves at the conference, namely the StoveTec wood rocket stove and the Vuthisa charcoal gasifying stove. Although the StoveTec was not [...]
2010 in review « said,
January 2, 2011 @ 4:14 pm
[...] StoveTec January 2010 6 comments 5 [...]
Charcoal gas stove « said,
August 2, 2011 @ 5:21 pm
[...] concerning indoor air pollution, we also promote the clean-burning StoveTec Rocket stove. Click here for more [...]
lucian said,
June 3, 2012 @ 10:14 pm
hi i m interested 2 buy some of the stove in a job lot.i m base in ireland,any website?
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