How did this design improve life?:
Turbo Stove - A New Cooker that Operates on Bioenergy.
Hundreds of various types of stoves made of stone, clay and sheet metal have not been able to solve the problems related to the preparation of food by women under conditions in the developing nations. Regardless of the catastrophe-related causes, people require food and firewood. Amongst all the food shipments, tents, pots and cauldrons, there has been a distinct lack of cookers incorporating bioenergetic and other agricultural waste materials in their heating systems.
A new cookstove capable of acceptance by large groups of people in various cultures must fulfill a considerable number of different requirements. The Turbo Stove has been planned to meet the following user demands, among others:
• low in purchase price
• economical in use
• versatile in fuel options

Name of Designer(s):
Tapio Niemi

Designers professional status:
Professional

Status of realization:
Realized

Kind of design:
Tangible

Year of production, realization or publishing:
1999

Designed in country:
Finland

Used on continents:
Africa

Short description of design:
A Turbo Stove is suitable for both frying, boiling and roasting
The stove can be assembled by hand in 20 minutes or less. This feature makes it unmatched throughout the world.
A Turbo Stove releases minimal emissions of smoke in respect to toxic carbon dioxide (CO) and other respiratory particles which otherwise pose a threat to the heath of women and children. With respect to women, Improvements in this field in health, safety and convenience enjoy top priority.

Functionallity and use of design:
The concept of sustainability is foremost, Because of its basic technical design, duplicating the Turbo Stove on the local level is feasible.
This cooker belongs to the group of metallic, one-pot, chimney-free, portable and bioenergetic cookstoves.
It is efficiently fabricated from the stage of plain metal sheet to semi-finished assembly kit. The kit itself is a comprehensive unit consisting of seven parts which are separated by hand for final assembly.
When assembled, the Turbo Stove generates excellent combustion based on a special combination of primary and secondary air flow through the combustion chamber. The primary air flow can be regulated by the two-level adjustable grate as the preheated secondary air enters the combustion chamber through holes in the inside wall. The process is based on thermal expansion acting between the two walls.
Preheated secondary air is pressed into the combustion chamber by thermal air expansion between the two walls, which are heated by fire in the combustion chamber

Drawbacks of life improvement:
None

Research and need:
The development of Turbo Stoves took ten years. Tapio Niemi acted as Information Department Project Supervisor in Kenya and The Sudan for Enso Forest Development Ltd. It was his responsibility to develop the forest related counseling and information organization. In practice, this work concerned the development and educational training respective to agroforestry models as well as nursery gardens, water collection systems and counseling methods. Turbo Stoves originated in response to local population needs: a well-functioning woodburning oven had not been available