Rocket stove, first try

My first try:

Clay, sand and grass, tromped together. This took two 5-gallon buckets of clay, one of sand.

I need to add more height to the chimney since it doesn't draw well. I expected to have enough materials to complete it, but two buckets of clay wasn't enough. A job for tomorrow.

It sits on a wooden board and has a cable attached to the front so I can more easily move it around.

Back in the 1980s I helped build what was called then the 'estufa lorena', Spanish for 'mud stove'. Goal then was to help poor country folk save on wood use and also direct smoke outside of houses for health. They were fun to build and the locals were very familiar with how to make and build with adobe, so we made a lot of them.

I have wanted to make one at home for years but just never got off my butt, until today. This was a very small, simple trial run, took a couple of hours. One goal was to have a way to cook if the electricity goes out, which is pretty common here for short periods. But with all the news recently I am getting more motivated to deepen my ability to get along without power.

I watched a couple of youtube videos then went ahead. This one is similar to one I saw on David the Good's channel.

I need to find some pots that my wife will let me put on an open fire.