Anecdote #5,317: Selling My Stove

As part of my dissolving of assets, I sold my stove.  The two-burner cheap cast steel with finicky connection and separate propane tank has served me well over the two years.  In fact, it was the only thing I sold.  The rest of my worldly possessions were given away by raffle.  For the stove, connection, and tank, I asked for $50.  This was quite a bargain considering everything cost me about $85 in total.

It soon became clear that the price was an apparent steal to those in the community as well.  There was an overwhelming amount of interest and I quickly sold the setup to one of my old host families.

So that got me thinking.  There are obvious health benefits with a gas stove as well as no longer having to carry firewood.  However, there are very few families with stoves.  Most cook over a traditional fogon, or 3-stone campfire.  So why the overwhelming interest?

Is a subsidy project in order?  Would marking the price of the stove down 40% be the key to stove adoption in the region?  Or was my merely offering something at a discount the catalyst?  In any case, it makes for a great econ thesis.