Safe, Energy Efficient Cookstoves in Guatemala

Our teams have been working diligently conducting home to home surveys with the project beneficiaries. The following are the results of a sampling of one village community: 

Amount of wood used for cooking:

• 100% of users report up to 75% or more decrease in the amount of wood needed for cooking.

Capacity of new stove to prepare meals:

• 100% reported the ability to cook all their traditional and customary meals using the stove.

Burns:

• 20% reported severe burns in children under the age of 12 years in the household with the open fire stoves, many of them requiring medical attention.
  
  
• 0% reported burns with the new cookstoves.

Respiratory Issues:

  Open Fire Cook Stoves

• 70% of respondents reported respiratory issues among women preparing meals.
  
  
• 30% reported respiratory problems among children under the age of 5.
  
  
• 100% reported respiratory problems among children between the ages of 6 and 12 years.
  
  
• 60% reported respiratory issues among all adults in the households.

  However, when HRI provided our Clean Cookstoves with chimney removing smoke from the homes: 

• 0% reported any respiratory problems among household members after receiving the cookstoves equipped with chimneys to remove all of the smoke from the stoves.

This data is remarkable! It details the incredible impact the Safe Cookstoves are having on the health and safety of every family, as well as the protection of the environment and concerns for deforestation. Thank you for your support which helped ensure these families received a safe cookstove!

Thanks to our partners, HRI concluded 2021 with a total of 31 new cookstoves provided to families in remote Guatemalan villages. These stoves are drastically improving the health and safety of vulnerable families. 

In addition to providing new safe cookstoves in 2021 (and many other HRI programs including nutritious food, water filters, latrines, entrepreneurship programs, health and mental health programs, youth leadership development, women's empowerment and more)... HRI spent a lot of time in 2021 meeting with families who received safe cookstoves from HRI in 2019 and 2020 to track the long-term impact of this project. 

We are pleased to share the following data based on stoves implemented in 2019 and 2020:

• 100% of stoves are still in good working order!
  
  
• Mothers are still the primary person to collect wood for the stove, but they are saving hours every day as these safe cookstoves require considerably less wood for cooking!
  
  
• Prior to receiving the new cookstoves, at least 50% of families experienced an accidental burning incident in the home on average once a month; After receiving the new stove, families report ZERO burn accidents thanks to the new safe cookstoves!
  
  
• Prior to receiving the new cookstoves, at least 40% of families had children under age 5 who struggled with respiratory infections; After receiving the new stove, ZERO children have suffered from respiratory infections!

This impact data is critical as it allows us to see the substantial impact Safe Cookstoves are having in the every day lives of women, children and elderly especially. 

Thank you for being part of the solution by giving to this project. If you want to make an even greater impact, we hope you'll consider being a monthly partner - every gift will save, keep safe and improve the lives of desperately poor and vulnerable children, youth, women, elderly and whole families. 

Thank you!

Jennifer Jones
jjones@hungerreliefintl.org
405/408-6954 

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