GUATEMALA STOVE PROJECT
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Mission Statement
Globally, nearly three billion people use polluting, inefficient stoves or open flames to cook their food. Exposure to cooking fire smoke kills approximately two million people worldwide every year. In Guatemala, as in many other countries, breathing in the toxic fumes while preparing tortillas puts Mayan women and children at risk for respiratory illnesses, blindness and burns on a daily basis. It is estimated that 77% of Guatemalan families use wood as their main fuel source. 2% of Guatemala’s forests are lost annually, mainly due to the need for fuel for cooking fires. Precious family resources and time are spent on gathering or purchasing wood. The Guatemala Stove Project (GSP) helps alleviate these problems by building vented stoves that are adapted to Mayan cooking methods. These stoves are made of cement blocks on the outside and fire-bricks inside, filled with sand and pumice for insulation and held together by mortar. The design of the firebox can reduce wood consumption by 50%
About This Cause
Mission Statement To assist in the relief of poverty and improve the health and well being of the indigenous and other disadvantaged peoples of Guatemala, and of similar peoples in other areas. Main Activities Building and providing cook stoves Providing other necessary supplies and supports to the above peoples, and to health, education and social agencies providing assistance to the above peoples Raising funds and recruiting volunteers in Canada to support the above objectives Educating the Canadian public concerning the conditions and needs of the above peoples Fostering international understanding and cooperation between the people of Canada and the people of Guatemala and other areas where the Project will work. The Guatemala Stove Project is a registered Canadian charitable organization with Canada Revenue Agency (registration #871977617 RR0001). All donations over $20.00 will be issued a tax receipt. It costs CAD $225.00 to build a stove for a Maya family. Donate as one family to another, fund a stove as a class or community project, or send as an alternative to gift giving. Individuals, families, and groups who donate funds for an entire stove will receive information and a photo about the family. You can add years of life to a family. Make a donation today and help change the future. or send a cheque payable to: Guatemala Stove Project 549 Brooke Valley Rd. RR# 4 Perth, Ontario, Canada K7H 3C6 The GSP is a volunteer-driven registered Canadian charity under #871977617RR0001. It was started in 1999 by Canadian carpenter Tom Clarke. In the first year under the guidance of mason Don Juan Puac, Tom built six stoves. Since then, counting the 20 or so stoves built by volunteers traveling to Guatemala each winter, the GSP has funded over 5,000 stoves. Most of these stoves have been built by local Mayan masons employed by our Guatemalan partners as funds are available. That’s 5,000 families living in cleaner kitchens, breathing unpolluted air. There are two active chapters of the GSP, the founding group in Perth Ontario and the Ottawa Chapter. Each group meets about every 6 weeks to plan fundraising events and keep in touch with events in Guatemala. The GSP works in partnership with 3 Guatemalan NGOs – CEDEC (Centro de Estudios Para el Desarrollo y la Cooperacion), AMI (Asociacion Mujeres de Ixchel) and AMMID (Asociacion Maya-Mam de Investigacion Y Desarrollo) in the Departments of Totonicapán, Sololá, Quetzaltenango, and San Marcos. The Guatemala Stove Project has partnered with many other NGO’s on various projects. Donate A Car Canada accepts Vehicle Donations for Guatemala Stove Project. We provide free towing in many areas across Canada, or you can drop off your vehicle to maximize your donation. When you Donate your RV, boat, motorcycle or other vehicle to Guatemala Stove Project through Donate A Car Canada, it will either be recycled or sold at auction depending on its condition, age and location. Donate A Car Canada will look after all the details to make it easy for your Charity to benefit. After your Vehicle Donation is complete, Guatemala Stove Project will send you a tax receipt within 45 days! Follow the link to donate your vehicle to the Guatemala Stove Project. Stove Plans Stove PlansBuilding Masonry Cookstoves 1. Determine the location where the stove will go, making sure there is no obstruction for the chimney. The homeowner (usually the woman of the house) must be involved in this decision. Usually the stove will be backing a wall, and a lot of times built in a corner of the room. Ideally, the members of the family will carry the materials and water, do the mixing, sift the sand, fill the bottom 2/3 of the stove, and even cutting and laying blocks (if they have those skills). By being involved in building their stove, they will gain a sense of appreciation and ownership, resulting in using and maintaining the stove properly and effectively in the future. 2. Ask the family to move their cooking (open) fire outside while the stove is being built. 3. Level the floor where the stove will be built. Usually they have a rough dirt floor. 4. Soak the blocks in water for few minutes for better bonding with mortar. Make a large batch of mortar (1 part Portland cement to 3 parts sifted sand). Stove Plans5. Spread some mortar on the ground, where the blocks will sit, and lay the first course of blocks with their cavity holes facing down. Carefully lay the second course (holes down as well), making sure all joints are overlapped (see Fig. 2 & 3). Fill the seams with mortar. 6. Fill inside of the block walls with pumice (or dirt, if pumice not available) to the top. 7. Lay the top course of blocks, holes facing up this time, leaving a 10” opening in the front for the door, by cutting blocks on two sides of the door. Fill the block cavities with pumice or dirt. 8. Pack and level the fill inside the stove gently, avoiding pressure to the walls. 9. Lay flat a course of dry bricks (with no mortar) on top of the fill, as the floor of the firebox (combustion chamber). See Fig. 4. The gaps will be filled with wood ash in future. 10. Make brick mortar (1 Portland, 1 lime and 2 sand), and lay the bricks (standing), for the wall of the firebox. The bricks must be soaked briefly (but not too much) in water to accept mortar. The top of the bricks should be about 1 inch higher than the blocks. 11. Install the door by mortaring in its arms in the cavity of the side blocks. 12. Lay the clay door lintel, such that the top is flush with top of the blocks. 13. Set the steel stovetop (plancha) in place, on top of the brick walls and set the clay chimney tile next to the plancha, as shown in Fig. 4. 14. Pour the top concrete with a mix of 1 Portland to 3 sifted sand, flush with the plancha. Level it as much as possible. Wait for 15-20 minutes and work the surface with spreading some dry Portland and trowelling down gently to get a smooth finish. Bevel the edges all around. 15. Make a hole in the roof, use a plumb bob if you need, and install the 3 piece 5” galvanized pipes (chimney) complete with a rain cap (sombrero) wired on. Mortar the gap between the pipe and the clay chimney tile, as well as the gap between pipe and the roof. 16. Parge (stucco) block walls with a mix of 1 lime to 2 fine sand (screened) using a steel trowel and/or wood float. Use the float to obtain a smooth finish. It is easier to obtain a textured finish using your hand in a wet rubber glove, and by rubbing the wall surface with a circular motion. 17. At this point you can congratulate the family members that they will not have to breathe smoke anymore and will hopefully have healthier lives in the future. 18. It is very important to tell the family not to use the new stove for at least two weeks to let the cement cure. It is helpful if they keep the concrete wet for the next two days by sprinkling it with water whenever it looks dry. 19. Document the stove that you built, by taking a picture, and writing down the full names of all members of the family. The documentation is usually done by a GSP coordinator. Guatemala Stove Project guatemalastoveproject.org