Your goal is to create a chimney-like stove that directs the heat from the fire straight to the saucepan. First, create a base for your stove.

Stack the bricks as you begin to form an elbow or chimney-like design. Don’t leave too much space in between each brick.   (These photos leave out the mud/mortar for clarity – use just enough between each brick to hold them together.)   Play around with different brick sizes and stack them in an alternating pattern, like a brick wall, for stability.

You may have to cut some of the bricks to keep the shape even.

The center right photo shows a finished stove before adding the mud and retaining wall. You can see the space for the wood in the front (don’t make this opening too large) and on top you can see a space for putting the saucepan. Measure the saucepan used most often before beginning so that the opening us just large enough to hold it in place.

Now get the mud into all the cracks to insulate the stove. Make sure to keep the shape of the stove as you apply the mud.

TO increase efficiency, build a retaining wall around the stove and fill with ash or another insulative (non-flammable!) material.

Finished! Some like to plaster a dung and sand mixture over the bricks to even out the look of the stove.

Let dry completely before using.

The stoves in Vietnam follow the same Rocket Stove design, and are built using cement, rice husks and a mold – watch this video to see how.

For more information, contact us:

info@newnaturefoundation.org