The Compendium on Small-scale Industrial and Institutional Stoves contains a wealth of information on a sector which generally does not receive much attention from outsiders including policy makers. That is unfortunate, as the small scale industrial sector, in particular those based in rural areas, provides an opportunity for local people to process local raw materials. It creates thereby opportunities to add value to these local products while at the same time generating employment - all important issues for rural development. Unfortunately, these small scale industries generally have to operate in a competitive environment, not only at the local level but, probably more important, with larger scale industries both in rural and urban areas. The larger sized industries, in comparison to their small scale competitors, generally have a better access to information, production systems, more advanced technologies, markets, financing, technical assistance and so on. It is in this context that a decision was made to compile information on various of these small scale industrial applications located in the member countries of the Regional Wood Energy Development Programme (RWEDP) as well as of the Asian Regional Cookstove Programme (ARECOP). It is expected that by making this information available to those both directly and indirectly involved, a better understanding and awareness can be created on the problems being faced by this sector. The Asian Regional Cookstove Programme, having been instrumental in collecting and compiling of the information contained in this compendium, are to be thanked for putting in a tremendous amount of work and efforts in order to bring this compendium to its present shape. We hope, by making the compendium on industrial and institutional stoves available to interested parties and organizations, that the contents will inspire, if not challenge, both internal and external stake holders to look for innovative solutions which may provide some impetus to the small scale industrial and institutional sectors.