The Challenge
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Over 90% of rural Guatemalan families use wood as their primary cooking fuel, and most cook using an open fire inside the home or an inefficient stove that consumes vast amounts of firewood.
Open-fire cooking causes a number of serious health issues including respiratory illnesses, eye problems and severe burns (especially among young children, who are vulnerable to falling into open fires in the home). Every six hours someone in Guatemala dies from respiratory infection or disease attributable to indoor air pollution, and these illnesses are the second most common cause of infant death after diarrhea. In addition to the dangers of a smoke-filled living environment, gathering firewood is a time-consuming and strenuous task associated with back problems and hernias; the average Guatemalan family spends two hours every day collecting cooking fuel. Where firewood is purchased, this places great strain on household budgets in a country where over 75% of the population lives below the poverty line, unable to meet their basic food and service needs.
As well as the health and economic strains produced by inefficient cooking methods, the natural resources on which Guatemalans depend for survival are being rapidly depleted by the ever-increasing need for firewood. More than one million Guatemalan households lack access to an efficient cookstove, and Guatemala’s population of fifteen million is expected to double by 2030. Every second, Guatemala loses 16 square metres of forest and extreme levels of deforestation have left millions vulnerable to flooding and landslides in a country prone to extreme weather conditions.
Open-fire cooking causes a number of serious health issues including respiratory illnesses, eye problems and severe burns (especially among young children, who are vulnerable to falling into open fires in the home). Every six hours someone in Guatemala dies from respiratory infection or disease attributable to indoor air pollution, and these illnesses are the second most common cause of infant death after diarrhea. In addition to the dangers of a smoke-filled living environment, gathering firewood is a time-consuming and strenuous task associated with back problems and hernias; the average Guatemalan family spends two hours every day collecting cooking fuel. Where firewood is purchased, this places great strain on household budgets in a country where over 75% of the population lives below the poverty line, unable to meet their basic food and service needs.
As well as the health and economic strains produced by inefficient cooking methods, the natural resources on which Guatemalans depend for survival are being rapidly depleted by the ever-increasing need for firewood. More than one million Guatemalan households lack access to an efficient cookstove, and Guatemala’s population of fifteen million is expected to double by 2030. Every second, Guatemala loses 16 square metres of forest and extreme levels of deforestation have left millions vulnerable to flooding and landslides in a country prone to extreme weather conditions.
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Efficient cookstoves that reduce firewood consumption, eliminate smoke from the home and limit the risk of burns are vital to improving health, reducing deforestation and breaking the poverty cycle.
There are a number of clean cookstove providers within and beyond Guatemala, many of which have done an impressive job of reducing open-fire cooking. However, it is a sad fact that many stove producers develop their models with little input from end-users, and Guatemalan women have been treated as passive recipients expected to adopt a one-size-fits-all stove design that is often unsuited to their needs.
The solution is a range of product options and a user-led design process.
There are a number of clean cookstove providers within and beyond Guatemala, many of which have done an impressive job of reducing open-fire cooking. However, it is a sad fact that many stove producers develop their models with little input from end-users, and Guatemalan women have been treated as passive recipients expected to adopt a one-size-fits-all stove design that is often unsuited to their needs.
The solution is a range of product options and a user-led design process.