Source: Mother Earth News As we who live in the industrialized
nations of the world are increasingly forced to tighten our
belts and live less energy-intensive lives, we might do well to
examine the gentler technology of the so-called “underdeveloped”
countries for “new” recycling and fueling ideas. I’m indebted,
therefore, to B.R. Saubolle, S.J.—of Katmandu, Nepal—or telling
my readers how some inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent
derive useful heat from what is commonly considered a waste
material in the U.S. and Canada. Perhaps we need more of this
“reverse” Peace Corps work. One of the simplest fuels for
cooking and for heating the house in winter is sawdust . . . a
waste product which is usually thrown away and which, therefore,
is obtainable free or at nominal cost. (True, not everybody
lives conveniently near a sawmill or lumberyard, but the same
objection applies to many other alternative sources of power.
Not everyone has a stream running through his property to
generate electricity, or keeps cattl