Name: Simple designs to save a life
Uploaded: 2006-08-15T00:11:00Z
Duration: 14 min 46 s
Description: Fumes from indoor cooking fires kill more than 2 million children a year in the developing world. MIT engineer Amy Smith details an exciting but simple solution: a tool for turning farm waste into clean-burning charcoal.

Fumes from indoor cooking fires kill more than 2 million children a year in the developing world. MIT engineer Amy Smith details an exciting but simple solution: a tool for turning farm waste into clean-burning charcoal.

Simple designs to save a life

Millions of children die each year from inhaling smoke produced by indoor cooking fires. Transforming agricultural waste like sugarcane bagasse and corncobs into clean-burning charcoal offers a simple, low-cost way to reduce deadly air pollution and deforestation. This approach empowers communities to produce their own fuel from local materials, creating health, economic, and environmental benefits without sacrifice. In Haiti alone, switching to these fuels could save millions of trees and generate vital income.