CLEAN STOVES FOR GUATEMALA

Inhaled smoke from indoor fires used for cooking is attributable for the death of over four million people per year world-wide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Countless others suffer from chronic respiratory diseases. In poorly ventilated homes, indoor smoke can be 100 times higher than acceptable levels for fine particles.

More than half of deaths among children under five due to pneumonia are caused by the particulate matter (soot) inhaled from household air pollution due to open fires and simple stoves. Around 3 billion people still cook and heat their homes with solid fuels indoors. Learning disabilities also occur as a result of continued exposure to carbon monoxide.

Women exposed to heavy indoor smoke are three times more likely to suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Among men, who already have a heightened risk of chronic respiratory disease due to their higher rates of smoking, exposure to indoor smoke nearly doubles that risk.

Included in the costs of physically alleviating these major health problems are funds for educational workshops about the importance of clean stoves. This is one educational component as part of an overall understanding about health, sanitation and hygiene. Training will also occur in which the people themselves learn how to build and take care of their clean stoves. The people will supply the necessary labor themselves.

In order to carry out this overall educational and production effort, it will cost $95 per family. That is, one efficient burning, clean stove per family of approximately 6 people. The desired reach of this current project is 500 families, costing a total of $47,500. The results will provide a long-term solution to an extremely serious problem among the very poor of mainly Mayan ancestry in the rural communities near Lake Atitlán, Guatemala.