Our Social Enterprise
Soluciones Apropiadas, S.A. is a social enterprise committed to improving the quality of life of Guatemalans living in poverty through the provision of accessible, affordable, high‐quality, environmentally and socially sustainable solutions that serve the economic, health, sanitation and energy needs of Guatemalan households.
We are positioned as a specialist provider with rapid design‐test‐modification cycles. As the improved cookstove industry has matured in Guatemala, we believe there is a need to pursue multiple approaches to improving the efficiency, usability and desirability of clean cookstoves. The dominant cookstove production strategy has involved economies of scale reliant on the production of one‐size‐fits‐all models to which it is hoped that the consumer will adapt. The scalability of this approach is appealing, however the drawback is that it is more difficult to incorporate user feedback into designs. Our guiding philosophy, based on our experience serving low‐income populations in Guatemala in a variety of capacities, is that there is no such thing as a one‐size‐fits‐all stove and that the sector must develop a range of designs that serve the diverse needs of low income households and small-scale enterprises.
Our approach is to adapt the product to the user, taking into account specialized markets and producing tailored stoves that best meet the needs of each user group. Historically, limited emphasis on user satisfaction has resulted in frustration and disinterest amongst actual and potential clients, and even total rejection or abandonment of clean cookstoves. It is vital for the industry and the health of people around the world that this tendency be redressed. Word of mouth marketing remains the primary expansion mechanism of cookstoves in Guatemala, and a positive experience amongst users will have a highly favorable impact on the industry.
We are positioned as a specialist provider with rapid design‐test‐modification cycles. As the improved cookstove industry has matured in Guatemala, we believe there is a need to pursue multiple approaches to improving the efficiency, usability and desirability of clean cookstoves. The dominant cookstove production strategy has involved economies of scale reliant on the production of one‐size‐fits‐all models to which it is hoped that the consumer will adapt. The scalability of this approach is appealing, however the drawback is that it is more difficult to incorporate user feedback into designs. Our guiding philosophy, based on our experience serving low‐income populations in Guatemala in a variety of capacities, is that there is no such thing as a one‐size‐fits‐all stove and that the sector must develop a range of designs that serve the diverse needs of low income households and small-scale enterprises.
Our approach is to adapt the product to the user, taking into account specialized markets and producing tailored stoves that best meet the needs of each user group. Historically, limited emphasis on user satisfaction has resulted in frustration and disinterest amongst actual and potential clients, and even total rejection or abandonment of clean cookstoves. It is vital for the industry and the health of people around the world that this tendency be redressed. Word of mouth marketing remains the primary expansion mechanism of cookstoves in Guatemala, and a positive experience amongst users will have a highly favorable impact on the industry.
Malcolm Gribble – Co‐Founder and Director General
Malcolm Gribble is a Mechanical Engineer from the United Kingdom and has spent the last four years working in Guatemala on the design and development of clean cookstoves for Central America and Mexico. Malcolm contributed to the design and development of a new cookstove for the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG) which is now marketed as the Doña Dora by Alterna. He went on to serve as the Product Development Engineer for ONIL/HELPS International, where he managed the design, development, testing and manufacture of the ONIL stove for Central America and Mexico. Through these roles, Malcolm has developed an in‐depth understanding of user needs and preferences and has extensive experience working with both a startup enterprise and an established international producer.
Malcolm Gribble is a Mechanical Engineer from the United Kingdom and has spent the last four years working in Guatemala on the design and development of clean cookstoves for Central America and Mexico. Malcolm contributed to the design and development of a new cookstove for the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG) which is now marketed as the Doña Dora by Alterna. He went on to serve as the Product Development Engineer for ONIL/HELPS International, where he managed the design, development, testing and manufacture of the ONIL stove for Central America and Mexico. Through these roles, Malcolm has developed an in‐depth understanding of user needs and preferences and has extensive experience working with both a startup enterprise and an established international producer.
Stephen Crowe – Co‐Founder and Technical Advisor
Steve is a Mechanical Engineer from the Unites States with more than six years’ experience overseeing cookstove projects in Guatemala. As Director of Research and Development with the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group, Steve managed the development of a new plancha stove that is now marketed as the Doña Dora by Alterna. Steve is a Technical Advisor to Soluciones Apropiadas and has been extensively involved in the design and development of our stoves. Steve divides his time between Soluciones Apropiadas and Hiteca, a start‐up venture which Steve founded and directs and which specializes in the design and installation of micro‐hydro electricity systems.
Steve is a Mechanical Engineer from the Unites States with more than six years’ experience overseeing cookstove projects in Guatemala. As Director of Research and Development with the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group, Steve managed the development of a new plancha stove that is now marketed as the Doña Dora by Alterna. Steve is a Technical Advisor to Soluciones Apropiadas and has been extensively involved in the design and development of our stoves. Steve divides his time between Soluciones Apropiadas and Hiteca, a start‐up venture which Steve founded and directs and which specializes in the design and installation of micro‐hydro electricity systems.
Annie Keel – Co‐Founder and Gender Mainstreaming Advisor
Annie holds an MA in Social Geography from the University of Edinburgh and has worked in the field of international development for more than five years. She has worked with a range of organizations including Habitat for Humanity, CAFOD (the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development), the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group and HELPS International, and has lived in Guatemala for the last four years. She currently works with WINGS, a Guatemalan‐based NGO that provides family planning and reproductive health services to women and families in underserved Guatemalan communities. With both Habitat for Humanity and HELPS International Annie was involved in stove projects targeting low‐income rural households. Annie’s fields of experience and expertise include preventive health, policy, qualitative and quantitative research, monitoring and evaluation, communications and donor relations.
Annie holds an MA in Social Geography from the University of Edinburgh and has worked in the field of international development for more than five years. She has worked with a range of organizations including Habitat for Humanity, CAFOD (the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development), the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group and HELPS International, and has lived in Guatemala for the last four years. She currently works with WINGS, a Guatemalan‐based NGO that provides family planning and reproductive health services to women and families in underserved Guatemalan communities. With both Habitat for Humanity and HELPS International Annie was involved in stove projects targeting low‐income rural households. Annie’s fields of experience and expertise include preventive health, policy, qualitative and quantitative research, monitoring and evaluation, communications and donor relations.
Collin Eaton – Co‐Founder and Director of Business Development
Collin holds a BA in Political Science from Bates College, Lewiston Maine and is currently finishing an MSc in Environmental Studies at the University of Oregon. Collin has spent more than five years working in Latin America and serving low‐income populations through a variety of development approaches. In Guatemala he has worked for large international non‐profit organizations including Habitat for Humanity and the microfinance organization FINCA. He brings to the team a unique skill set that combines a keen understanding of household economics and small business finance in a Guatemalan context, qualitative research methods and extensive experience of construction and historic preservation. For his master’s thesis research, Collin conducted focus group studies and in‐depth qualitative interviews with masons, home‐owners, non‐governmental organizations and local authorities throughout urban and peri‐urban Guatemala in order to develop strategies for reducing environmental impact through lower cost housing and reduced household energy use.
Collin holds a BA in Political Science from Bates College, Lewiston Maine and is currently finishing an MSc in Environmental Studies at the University of Oregon. Collin has spent more than five years working in Latin America and serving low‐income populations through a variety of development approaches. In Guatemala he has worked for large international non‐profit organizations including Habitat for Humanity and the microfinance organization FINCA. He brings to the team a unique skill set that combines a keen understanding of household economics and small business finance in a Guatemalan context, qualitative research methods and extensive experience of construction and historic preservation. For his master’s thesis research, Collin conducted focus group studies and in‐depth qualitative interviews with masons, home‐owners, non‐governmental organizations and local authorities throughout urban and peri‐urban Guatemala in order to develop strategies for reducing environmental impact through lower cost housing and reduced household energy use.
María José Flores – Project Coordinator
Maria Jose is currently studying for a degree in Industrial Engineering at the Universidad del Valle in Guatemala. As Project Coordinator with Soluciones Apropiadas she is responsible for coordinating our new women’s empowerment project funded through the United Nations’ Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves. This project is focused on development of a new commercial cookstove designed with and for the micro entrepreneurial Guatemalan woman whose livelihood depends on preparing and selling tortillas, a Guatemalan food staple. Maria Jose oversees the selection of project participants and guides them through a process of surveys, focus groups and product testing so that women’s voices are centralized in the process of stove design and development.
Maria Jose is currently studying for a degree in Industrial Engineering at the Universidad del Valle in Guatemala. As Project Coordinator with Soluciones Apropiadas she is responsible for coordinating our new women’s empowerment project funded through the United Nations’ Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves. This project is focused on development of a new commercial cookstove designed with and for the micro entrepreneurial Guatemalan woman whose livelihood depends on preparing and selling tortillas, a Guatemalan food staple. Maria Jose oversees the selection of project participants and guides them through a process of surveys, focus groups and product testing so that women’s voices are centralized in the process of stove design and development.
Ji Kim - Industrial Design Advisor
Ji Kim is an Industrial Designer with BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and Executive MBA from Weatherhead Case Western Reserve University. She has over sixteen years of experience in both corporations and design consultancies. Her work can be seen in many products including Moen faucets, BD medical equipments, Titleist & FootJoy golf shoes and Baby Einstein products. As Industrial Design Advisor to S.A., she aided the successful crowdfunding Indiegogo campaign in 2014 and works on brand marketing and product design refinement in 2015. She was born in Seoul, South Korea and currently lives in U.S. She is a firm believer that good design centers on understanding the end users, good team collaboration and equally importantly, having fun.
Ji Kim is an Industrial Designer with BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and Executive MBA from Weatherhead Case Western Reserve University. She has over sixteen years of experience in both corporations and design consultancies. Her work can be seen in many products including Moen faucets, BD medical equipments, Titleist & FootJoy golf shoes and Baby Einstein products. As Industrial Design Advisor to S.A., she aided the successful crowdfunding Indiegogo campaign in 2014 and works on brand marketing and product design refinement in 2015. She was born in Seoul, South Korea and currently lives in U.S. She is a firm believer that good design centers on understanding the end users, good team collaboration and equally importantly, having fun.
Waleska Aguilar – Sales Advisor
Waleska divides her time between Soluciones Apropiadas, Engineers Without Borders and Soluciones Apropiadas’ sister company Hiteca (of which she is co-founder). A business administrator with extensive experience working and consulting for local start-ups, Waleska coordinated the initial testing process of the Hiteca Plancha Stove and continues to provide guidance and advice on community outreach strategies and user needs. She is the current Country Manager for Engineers Without Borders in Guatemala and previously worked with the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group and the social enterprise Alterna, where she was responsible for managing the community sales strategy of the Doña Dora cookstove. Waleska is particularly interested in woman-focused development approaches and design processes that address the needs of the end user.
Waleska divides her time between Soluciones Apropiadas, Engineers Without Borders and Soluciones Apropiadas’ sister company Hiteca (of which she is co-founder). A business administrator with extensive experience working and consulting for local start-ups, Waleska coordinated the initial testing process of the Hiteca Plancha Stove and continues to provide guidance and advice on community outreach strategies and user needs. She is the current Country Manager for Engineers Without Borders in Guatemala and previously worked with the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group and the social enterprise Alterna, where she was responsible for managing the community sales strategy of the Doña Dora cookstove. Waleska is particularly interested in woman-focused development approaches and design processes that address the needs of the end user.