The Energy Journal, Vol 8, Special LDC Issue, pp. 125-146, 1987. Rural energy needs in the developing countries consist of, first, fuel for heating and, second, mechanical or muscular energy for agricultural production, food processing, and other basic survival tasks. Over the past decade, in response to the worldwide energy crisis, the focus of concern for micro-level energy needs has been on the fuel needs of the rural poor, primarily for cooking. Earlier interest in the application of appropriate technologies to accomplish mechanical food tasks was displaced by this new enthusiasm.
