The past 3 weeks I have attended three different conferences/meetings in San Diego, Florida, and Niagara Falls respectively. This is somewhat of a departure from my normal routine, and I was even required to wear a jacket and tie on one occasion (undocumented). All were useful, even enjoyable, and included such topics as How to better evaluate the long term impact of Floresta's programs (San Diego), Conservation farming as a viable alternative for drought prone regions of Africa (Florida), and Holistic development ie. how community development is about a change of heart, not just a change of technology or infrastructure (Niagara Falls).
On a different note, I am trying to find out about biofuels, in particular the use of straight vegetable oil (SVO) in diesel engines and cooking stoves. If anyone knows anything about this topic, or knows someone that does, PLEASE, contact me.
Bob
Photo: a simple press which can be used to make briquettes from scrap paper or plant materials to substitute for firewood. The press can also be modified to extract oil from various tree and crop seeds to produce oil for cooking or alternative fuels (from the ECHO conference in Florida)
