StoveTeam’s Guatemala Country Director is currently in Nicaragua. Read his updates from the field to see how StoveTeam is putting donations to work in Central America.

Nobody but a crazy person would design a trip crossing borders into three countries during a pandemic outbreak, but that’s exactly what I did. I wanted to visit all of my friends in Central America and see the results of our work starting StoveTeam.

At StoveTeam, our stove recipients’ wants and needs inform our designs and approaches. We know that the success of our projects relies on the satisfaction of the families we serve. It’s not enough to provide a stove that saves fuel wood and ensures a smoke-free home, we also need to ensure that families truly love our stoves. Otherwise, they might not be be willing to leave behind the generations-old tradition of cooking over an open fire.

The first home I visited was ten by twelve. There were tree trunks at each of four corners, black plastic and old plastic bags for walls, and inside was a smoky open fire and a makeshift bed. Santiago [the father] had left the house at 3:30 am and returned four hours later carrying 77 pounds of firewood. He and Maria Luisa stayed in their home all day, and smoke filled the tiny room. Santiago had no energy left to work, and Maria Luisa was too ill to stand. The two of them lived that day on ten tortillas.

As Eva and Bety set up to build the stove, the father said to Chato, “the women are going to build?” Chato said, “Yes, and Bety is my supervisor.” This came as a big surprise. During the entire process of building, the daughter sat on a chair and watched Eva and Bety work. I kept thinking that she must be inspired to see these two strong women working together outside a traditional role.