HEDON Meeting Report, Lund, Sept 1995

HEDON is the Household Energy Development Organizations Network. It exists as a forum for the exchange of information between organizations working in the North with the aim of supporting work on household energy in the South. HEDON meetings are run along the lines of a seminar, this meeting being the sixth since the network was established in 1991.

Participants from the following organizations were present:

Asia Regional Cookstove Programme (ARECOP), Bangkok; Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Holland; FAO, Forestry Department, Italy; GTZ Household Energy Programme (HER), Germany; ITDG, UK; Lund University Department of Environmental & Energy Systems & Department of Architecture, Sweden; Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Sweden; Swedish Government Aid Agency (SIDA),Sweden; Woodburning Stove Group (WSG) Eindhoven University, Netherlands; World Bank (AFTPS), USA.

The main topics discussed at the meeting were research on indoor air pollution, the preparation of a joint discussion paper on Agenda 21, and household energy conference.

Indoor air pollution

Reports of two comprehensive research projects on the subject of indoor air pollution were presented by Anders Ellegaard and Krishna Prasad of Bio Quest HB and Eindhoven University; the former contained an analysis of a vast number of factors affecting health and concluded that smoke removal is, although probably the largest, only one of a mixed bag of problems in the kitchen which include moisture, waste disposal, type of fuel, stove design and so on.

The issue or how to bridge the gap between academic research and the implementation of measures to benefit stove users was discussed with the result that HEDON members will be directing greater efforts towards practical recommendations for reducing smoke levels in kitchens.

A HEDON discussion paper on Agenda 21 (the policy guidelines arising from the Rio Summit) was finalized and will be used to stimulate debate on the effectiveness of household energy programmes in meeting their objectives. HEDON is also considering organizing an international conference on household energy during 1997.

Overall, the meeting was productive and well attended. There are good prospects for building on the efforts of the participants in order to increase awareness of the importance of household energy in rural development planning.

Background information on Brace Institute

Brace Research Institute of McGill University was founded in 1959 to develop equipment and techniques for individuals and small communities in rural areas using as many local resources as possible, whether human, energy or material, so that the technology can be easily adapted to the environment.

The Institute has concentrated on solar and wind energy and on simple desalination systems. They undertake research into various energy systems including solar cookers, dryers and solar water purification. In addition, it undertakes the field application of the systems and equipment it has developed in the above areas of interest, participates in numerous studies in developing areas and prepares technical and scientific manuals on a variety of subjects in these fields.

The list of its leaflets and other publications (available from the address below and mostly costing less than $5.00) includes solar cooking, water heating and sterilization, biomass cookers and briquetting technology. Many publications are in French as well as Spanish.

The Institute works in close collaboration with similar organizations in different parts of the
world, as well as with commercial and industrial firms developing suitable systems for the application of these technologies. The Institute provides short-term training facilities for participants from developing areas of the world, under sponsorship arrangements. Contract research and investigations are also undertaken for a wide variety of national and international organizations.

Address: Publications Department, Brace Research Institute, College MacDonald, McGill University' PO Box 900, Ste Anne de Bellevue , Quebec, Canada, H9X 3V9. Email address: ael2@musica.mcgill.ca

The Bioenergy Environment Group ,Quebec,1995

by Smail Khennas - ITDG Representative

The Bio Energy Environment Group met in Quebec City on October 15-18 1995. Its meeting coincided with the 50th anniversary of the FAO. The group took advantage of this major event to contribute actively to the final resolutions presented to the Minister of Agriculture.

The meeting reviewed the activities of the previous years and set up a new programme for 1996-97. The key activities include a directory of biomass energy, a Worldwide Web Site on biomass, inserts in the IEPF journal 'Liaison Energie Francophone'. An international seminar on biomass energy is planned for late 1997 or 1998. Boris Utria, Coordinator for the World Bank of the Energy Policy and Strategy in some Western African countries attended the meeting and expressed the bank's willingness to support and participate in the activities of the Energy Environment Group.