For less than $20 plus a little flue pipe you can build a smokeless high-efficiency wood stove. The concepts here can be applied to a wide variety of circumstances.

   This stove was born out concerns for the health in third-world kitchens that release wood smoke directly into the living areas. A small plate of steel, a little flue pipe, and local mud are all that's needed. This stove uses less fire wood for cooking than the existing centuries-old practices, and therefore is a strong contender for cultural adaptation.

   I picked up a scrap of steel just 7” X 10” and decided to make a stove out of it. I sculpted the technology from the earth beneath my feet, and added about 10 feet of 3” diameter flue pipe. In my very first test it only took about a third longer to bring a liter of water to boil than it did on my modern gas stove.

   Earth plus a small percentage of cement can make a versatile building material. The small stove in this application can cook, bisque-fire ceramics, and even enable small-scale blacksmithing.

   A cottage industry based on ceramics is made possible through a wood-fired kiln of this design. Again, there is almost no smoke, and the fuel efficiency is surprising.