Preliminary announcement: StoveTec’s “Paint the Town Red” Viral Video Challenge

Calling all notorious hooligans!

We are passionate about stoves. We love biomass. We are constantly driven by our mission to deliver the best available cookstoves to cooks around the world. If you are reading this, chances are you’ve already discovered how StoveTec’s clean-burning, powerful, fuel-efficient stoves are a great alternative to traditional cooking methods. Yet, still, there are thousands of people around the world who don’t yet know about us. This is where you come in:

Share your passion for StoveTec stoves by making a video spot that answers “why you love your StoveTec stove.” Let your creativity fly - make it funny, make it musical, make it action-packed, make it in the Grand Canyon – the sky is the limit. Paint the town red and help StoveTec go viral!

We will, of course, reward your efforts. We have a limited run of StoveTec GreenFire Stoves with a special red paint job. These stoves are not for sale and will be exclusively sent to video contributors. Additionally, we’ll feature you and your stove on our website and/or blog. So, start your cameras rolling and help make StoveTec (and your own video skills) a household name.

Here are the rules:

- Eligibility extends to anyone worldwide.

- Challenge begins December 2, 2010.

- Videos must be in English unless they are submitted from another StoveTec project country, in which case the lingua franca of the submitting country may be used.

- Videos should be about 60 seconds long. Minimum/Maximum parameters are 45 seconds-7 minutes.

- Video Files must be provided in one of the following file formats: .MPEG; .MOV; .AVI.

- Video should be under 500MB.

- You must send us your video and post it to YouTube. Additionally, your video must be posted on our Facebook page.

- Video must not factually misrepresent StoveTec or our products.

- Videos must not be deemed offensive by StoveTec staff.

- Videos are subject to editorial approval. StoveTec reserves the right to remove noncompliant videos.

- You may put your name or company name in the video, if you choose.

- You may use our logos and images in conjunction with submissions only.

- After videos are submitted and approved they are the property of StoveTec.

- Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery of your stove.

More details to follow in 2011! Happy filming!!

See Whats Cooking!

The StoveTec Stove is incredibly versatile – its used around the world, in many conditions, and cooks all sorts of food.  StoveTec Stoves are used in over 70 countries across the world and in every state in the United States.  We love receiving fan mail, and occasionally we get a story so great that we have to share.  Case and point, when we received word that two StoveTec Stoves were used to prepare a meal of 23 lobsters, corn, and smores on the beach of Rhode Island, we took special notice!

StoveTec users Dee and Richard Lawrence prepared an authentic lobster feast on the beach of Rhode Island earlier this year, taking advantage of the stove’s ability to use only a few pieces of driftwood to cook the entire meal. A testimonial from Dee sums up her satisfaction.

“We found less and less driftwood on the beaches each year equating to more and more time spent gathering firewood.  With a Stove Tec stove we used our two largest pots on two stoves to cook a fabulous meal of 23 lobsters and an equal amount of corn and S’mores on the beach. By using half the amount of fuel, we also put out a lot less CO2.  Highly recommended for any cookout!” – Dee Lawrence

Richard Lawrence showing off just 1 of the 23 lobsters used in the feast!

Feeding the StoveTec Stove. A little goes a long way!

The StoveTec Stove works perfectly for day trips to the beach, car camping trips in parks, backyard cookouts, cooking with no power, and any other activity that allows the user to take advantage of cooking with natural fuel, cooking faster, and cooking easier. If you and your family or friends have used a StoveTec Stove recently, send us your pictures and stories and you may be featured on the next blog post!

National Preparedness Month!

September is National Preparedness Month!   We at StoveTec think you should always be prepared.  With hurricanes and tropical storms ripping across the country, now is a good time to take stock and recognize the importance of being prepared for any disaster that could potentially have an effect on you and your family. No matter where in the world you live, preparing for natural disasters makes sense.  An emergency kit provides you with tools and supplies necessary to keep you alive and healthy without power, without shelter, and without gas.   A StoveTec Stove is an essential part of any preparedness plan as it gives you the ability to cook food using natural materials that are available anywhere.

In honor of National Preparedness Month, we want to see pictures of YOU using your StoveTec Stove!   Action shots help spread the message – that owning your StoveTec stove is only half the job, knowing how to use it is equally important!  We want pictures from around the country.  We want pictures of every kind of cuisine.  We are offering a FREE stove (including FREE shipping) to the winner of our Preparedness Month Picture Contest.  Our winner will be chosen based on picture quality and content.   

            More information on how to ensure you are properly prepared, including more tips for a preparedness kit, can be found at ready.gov. Don’t be caught unprepared – purchase your StoveTec Stove today!

StoveTec Recipe Tracker: See Whats Cooking!

This new StoveTec recipe comes to us from the Peace Corps Zambia's Women In Development Committee. The committee is responsible for empowering women throughout the developing world and helping them to create, implement, and carry out projects to better serve their communities. One such project that was carried out was the creation of a cookbook with over 100 delicious recipes that can all be cooked with the StoveTec Stove! Here is just one to feast your eyes on for now!

Vegetable Curry

1 Potato

1 Eggplant

1/4 cup butter or oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

3-4 tomatoes

black pepper

2 green peppers

2 zucchini

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp coriander

3-10 garlic cloves

2 tbsp curry powder

1 cayenne pepper

Cut up veggies. Melt margarine in a skillet/pan and add garlic and other spices. Add all the veggies except the tomatoes. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add water if necessary to keep mixture moist. When vegetables are tender, add tomatoes, and heat through.

This Vegetable Curry dish is a great addition to anyones gourmet camping cookbook and a very healthy one at that! Of course, it can easily be made into a non-vegetarian dish by adding in some diced meat, which is sure to blend well with the veggies and sauce! Many thanks to all the powerful woman in Zambia who contributed to this recipe, and cookbook.

If YOU have any recipes that you use on the StoveTec Stove, please do not hesitate to e-mail them to stovestore@stovetec.net. Your recipe might be the next one featured on the StoveTec Recipe Tracker!

StoveTec Recipe Tracker: See What’s Cooking!

The 2nd entry of our StoveTec Recipe Tracker looks mouthwatering, and has a video to prove it! The “Boat Trip Stew” created by Boat Rental John (On Twitter @boatrental_usa) and submitted on his website Boat rental, is a simple, easy to cook, and delicious recipe that is a perfect addition to any camping, boating, fishing, or trekking trip.

The Recipe is as follows:

Boat Trip Stew

Start with bacon, add onions and garlic to grease
Use cheap beef, cube it, coat it with flour S&P
Add ¼ Olive Oil to bacon grease, brown beef
Add about 4 cups water and 2 cups each of potato and carrots
Add 1 can of tomato sauce, prefer pureed diced tomatos
Add sauteed onion and bacon, and some chili powder and sea salt
Let this all simmer for a couple of hours—stirring occasionally

Check out the Video of the Boat Trip Stew being cooked live by the creator!



The simple Boat Trip Stew is an example of another large meal that can be easily and quickly made for a whole group/family using the StoveTec stove. Obviously, camping meals no longer have to be just cheese and salami sandwiches and trail mix. Fine dining can be had even with no restaurants or kitchens in site! As long as you still have your stove!

If YOU have any recipes that you use on the StoveTec stove please do not hesitate to e-mail them to stovestore@stovetec.net. Your recipe might be the next one featured on the StoveTec Recipe Tracker!

StoveTec Recipe Tracker: See What's Cooking!

Our first StoveTec Stove recipe is here! The StoveTec Haitian Stew recipe, submitted by John and Flip Anderson, is widely used throughout Haiti to cook delicious pumpkin stew on the StoveTec Stove. It is a local favorite in Haiti, but is tasty and simple enough to cook to be a favorite anywhere!

The recipe is as follows:

Pumpkin Stew

1 to 2 lbs meat cut into 1" cubes
2 cloves garlic minced
1 onion cut up
3 tablespoons oil for browning meat
2 or 3 quarts water (more vegetables uses more water)
4 lbs pumpkin, seeds & skins removed, cut into large chunks
2 or 3 potatoes washed and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 or 3 carrots peeled and sliced into bite-sized pieces
lots more vegetables cut into bite-sized pieces (beans, cabbage, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.)
3-5 bouillon cubes for flavor

Brown meat in oil, remove meat from pot and set side. Saute onion and garlic in remaining oil and then add water and pumpkin. Boil until pumpkin is soft. Mash the water and pumpkin together (this creates a medium-thick broth). Add remaining vegetables, mean and bouillon. Simmer until all vegetables are cooked. Add salt and pepper, or other spices of choice for taste.

The StoveTec Haitian Pumpkin Stew can be a great addition to the menu of anyone who enjoys cooking outdoors, wants to be prepared (without sacrificing taste!) for times without a full kitchen, or simply enjoys the simplicity and fun of cooking with a non-electric rocket stove. Please let us know your feedback on the StoveTec Haitian Pumpkin Stew recipe!

If YOU have any recipes that you use on the StoveTec stove, please do not hesitate to e-mail them to stovestore@stovetec.net. Your recipe might be the next one featured on the StoveTec Recipe Tracker!

Guardian Article On How To Intelligently and Effectively Combat Climate Change

Click on the title link above and take a look at this article! We have the innovation, technology, and intelligence to literally change the world. The first step is becoming informed, the second step is TAKING ACTION! Luckily, part of taking action can simply be owning and using a StoveTec rocket stove. You can save the world and cook delicious meals all at the same time!

Water Pasteurizer Now Ready for Distribution!

The new StoveTec Water Pasteurizer has the chance to significantly improve global health issues caused by unsafe drinking water. Water Pasteurization is a technique that makes water safe to drink for human consumption without having to bring it to a boil. Paired with a StoveTec Rocket Stove, 6 liters of water can be brought up to 65 degrees Celsius - the temperature required to pasteurize water- in mere minutes. After pasteurization the water is clean, safe to drink, and maintains the un-altered taste of water. Water borne diseases are responsible for over 2.5 million deaths a year. These diseases can be prevented if water is pasteurized before consumption. Please spread the word and together we can improve the quality of life all over the world!

CONTEST FOR FREE STOVES!

ATTENTION: CONTEST FOR FREE STOVES!
StoveTec wants YOU to help us get more friends on facebook! Help to create more awareness of the potential of rocket stoves to positively impact the world, and enter for a chance to win free stoves in the process!
CONTEST DETAILS:
From today (6/21/10) until July 4th we want to DOUBLE the amount of friends we have on our facebook page. If we are able to reach this number (582) by the 4th of July, we will GIVE AWAY 5 StoveTec rocket stoves for FREE to randomly chosen fans of our Facebook page. In order to be eligible for a free stove, you must not have ever received a free promotional stove in the past. If you have not, then the next FREE stove we give out could be yours! Remember, in order for ANY stoves to be given away, we need to reach the target number of 582! So start telling all your friends to "like" us today and lets build our Rocket Stove community! 

10 innovations that can save the world! Rocket Stove #2!

StoveTec's partner and R&D team, Aprovecho Research Center (ARC), first created the idea of a rocket stove 30-plus years ago through the innovation and design principles developed by Dr. Larry Winiarski and Mr. Dean Still. Through the last 30 years the duo has paired to improve and expand upon their original designs in order to produce the current rocket stove product that is the StoveTec stove. The StoveTec rocket stove has helped ARC win numerous awards, the latest and most prestigious of which is the 2009 Ashden International Energy Champion Award. ARC was presented with this award based upon its ability to mass produce energy efficient, clean burning rocket stoves at an affordable price. The hard work put in by Dr. Winiarski, Mr. Still and the StoveTec team has put StoveTec at the forefront of businesses with the power to positively impact the world by creating solutions for health and environmental issues.

StoveTec wood stove review and video demo!

Check out Randolph Smith's review of the StoveTec wood stove on his website by clicking on the post title above. Includes a video of the stove in use! Enjoy!