Andrew’s Simplest Way to Start a Fire!
SE Asian villagers, for the most part, still cook with charcoal daily.
They usually like to start a fire (for BBQ as well as pot-cooking) by using old discarded rubber sandals, pieces of tire inner tube, plastic, and even Styrofoam. This toxic smoke usually permeates the village at dawn and dusk. In tropical humidity, the smoke often simply stagnates without rising above the roof lines and dispersing.
I’ve tried various methods of trying to convince them not to use those toxic starters–without much success. It wasn’t until I realized that every house in the village celebrated the Western tradition of birthday cakes. They had plenty of tiny candles, barely used.
So, I came up with the method shown in the video below. It’s becoming very popular in the village. Now, having used up their supply of old birthday candles, they are switching over to prayer candles (similar size but even cheaper).
One small success 
Check it out. You might find lighting your BBQ this way a whole lot more impressive and inexpensive. Throw away those newspaper chimneys, electric elements, and dangerous lighter fluids. All you need is a candle and a little piece of wood!!!
Enjoy!
