2014 Update - Buenas Noches and El Pacayal Stove Project Completed

Hi All - 

It has been a long time since I updated the Honduras Stove Project blog.   My apologies!

After finishing work in El Injerto, we moved on to build eco-stoves in Buenas Noches and El Pacayal, adding 72 completed eco-stoves in the region served by the Remote Village Project of the Virginia Medical Center Brigade.  These two communities are inaccessible by road, requiring a steep hike from the end of the passable road in Resumidero.  They are also incredibly picturesque.

 View of Buenas Noches from Above

Roof of the School Visible on Right

Health Study

For these villages, we added a significant additional facet – a study of the impact of eco-stoves on the lung function of school-age children in Buenas Noches.  We gathered all of the school children together and two doctors from Georgetown University, Dr. Wolfgang Rennert and Dr. Michelle Porras, conducted lung function tests.

Drs. Rennert and Porras with Nelson Martinez Discuss

Lung Function Tests with the Community

Dr. Porras Noting Study Data

Dr. Rennert Testing Lung Capacity

The same team returned six months later and took the same measurements for the same children.  The test results showed a strong improvement in lung function among the children of Buenas Noches. 

Pre-Existing Conditions

Below are some photos of conditions in homes of Buenas Noches before we began constructing the new eco-stoves.  Smoke and soot were evident.

The Eco-Stove Project

The stove project itself went much as it did in Planes, Playitas and El Injerto, beginning with community meetings and the transport of materials by mule and by hand from the end of the road.  

 Nelson and Community Leader Stacking Planchas

 Here I Am with a Woman Getting Ready 

to Fill Her Bag with Bricks

Packing a Bag of Bricks to Carry Home

Chatting with a Heavy Load 

As Though It Were Nothing!

Construction Proceeded as in the other villages, so I will not add a bunch of new pictures of the construction process.  Instead, here are a few photographs of completed stoves in Buenas Noches and El Pacayal.  They speak for themselves.

Next Phase

After a hiaitus, we are now in the final planning stages to begin building eco-stoves in the villages of San Antonio la Libertád, San Antonio de Cañas and Los Lirios.  The project's local support from the office of the Alcalde of Comayagua, falls under its special programs targeted at providing assistance to women.  In the three villages, we have signed up 154 women to have eco-stoves in their homes. Transport and construction will begin in early December, 2014. 

Life Is Steep in El Injerto - Eco-Stove Project Update                                  July 2013

At long-last, the Stove Project has resumed, thanks to support from grants from Ronald McDonald House and Georgetown University Environment Initiative, continuing material support from the office of the Alcalde Carlos Miranda, and gifts from donors.  After months of planning and piecing together support, we have initiated this phase of the project in the village of El Injerto.  Once we have completed the planned 54 eco-stoves in San José del El Injerto, we will move on to the villages of Santa Rosa de Buenas Noches and El Pacayal (46 and 25 stoves, respectively). 

I traveled to Honduras on May 31, to work with Nelson Martinez to initiate the 2013 phase of the project.  Over my first week there, Nelson and I visited with each of the material suppliers in Comayagua to do everything in our power to push the process along.

Ceramic Tiles for Fireboxes Drying before Baking in Kiln

Workers Placing Ceramic Tiles in Kiln Where They Baked for 24 Hours

Nelson Helps Load the Brigade Pick-up with Ceramic Tiles

Steel Planchas at Fabricator’s Facility

On June 5, we cut sufficient ceramic tile for the first 25 stoves.  The next morning, Nelson shepherded the Salúd Pública truck and driver to each of the suppliers’ facilities (each type of material coming from a different source) to load sufficient materials to begin the construction phase in El Injerto.

Nelson Cutting Tile at the Comayagua Club de Leones

El Injerto, where 54 eco-stoves are in various stages of construction as of this writing, is a small village built on the flanks of a steep mountainside.  Because the terrain is so steep, transporting the cement, block, bricks, rebar, sand, steel and ceramic parts up to the houses was a laborious task.  On June 6, delivery of materials to the point closest to El Injerto reachable by truck began, followed over the next couple of weeks by numerous other truck deliveries.  From there, villagers organized themselves to carry materials up to a central distribution point part way up the mountainside, and from there up to their individual homes.  Men, women and children all did their part to carry the heavy loads. 

Villagers Unloading Salúd Pública Truck

The Heaviest Loads Were Carried by Mules

Young and Old Did Their Part

School Children and Nelson Carrying Last Pieces for School Kitchen

Family Receiving Its “Package” of Materials to Transport Home

The next day, we held a community-wide meeting to formally introduce the construction phase and to introduce the team of masons who would be living in El Injerto and spending time in each of the homes there.  The community meetings function as an important part of the Project, to educate the people about how the project will proceed, the steps involved in building the stoves, and to renew community commitment to work together on this and other projects.  The meeting also allowed us to identify the community member (Simeón Vasquez) who would act as the masons’ apprentice.  A key part of the Project this time around is to ensure that a permanent member of the community is thoroughly trained in the construction and repair of the eco-stoves, so that he may be a continuing community resource.  Moreover, the apprentice will learn valuable skills that will help him and his family.

Community Meeting in the Church

The next morning, the masons began construction of the first stove, as a part of the El Injerto school.  Our program is to build the first stoves in common areas – the school kitchen and the church -- where all who are interested can stop by, observe the construction, and ask questions.  Construction of the first stove also affords the opportunity to resolve any design questions that may arise.  In this case, we were working with bricks of a different size that the larger bricks used for the Project in Planes and Playitas.  In addition, were had intended to work with a modified design promoted by the Honduran agency ADHESA.  After trying out the modified design, we decided to revert to the design we had followed in Planes and Playitas, as it seemed superior. 

The photographs below show the various steps in constructing the eco-stove at the school.  A steady stream of visitors, all ages, male and female, stopped by to check on progress.  Construction of the table on which the eco-stove sits takes a day.  The table must sit for a couple of days while the concrete sets before construction of the eco-stove can commence.  All told, construction of a stove takes about 4 days, although the completed stove must remain unused for about a week while the concrete and mortar continue to dry and cure. 

Although I stayed in El Injerto through June 11, we were not quite able to finish the first stove before my departure.  However, the photographs below show all but the very last steps.

Life Is Steep in El Injerto – View from the School Classroom Door

Masons Sieving Sand for Concrete Mix – School Kitchen in Background

                                                            

Concrete Footer and Block Table Legs

Building Form and Setting Rebar for Table Top

Mason Edilberto Zelaya and Apprentice Simeón Vasquez Begin Placing Brick for Stove

Aligning Chimney to Identify where to Cut Lamina Roof

Placing Mortar around Chimney Hole

Nelson Checking Placement of Ceramic Firebox (“the Boot”)

Completed Firebox – Note New Design Features: Wire and Brick Supports

Edilberto and Simeón Level Form for Concrete Surface above Brick

Completing Placement of Concrete Surface to Surround the Plancha

Completing Placement of Concrete Surface to Surround the Plancha

Mason Edilberto and Apprentice Simeón Finishing Concrete Surface

As of July 8, 2013, 48 of the 54 eco-stove had been completed in El Injerto.  Once the last of the eco-stoves is completed, the team will move on to Buenas Noches to begin work there.  As we begin the project in Buenas Noches, a new dimension will be added to the Project.  Led by Dr. Wolfgang Rennert of Georgetown University, we will begin a longitudinal study measure the health impacts of the eco stoves.  The first step in this study will be to conduct interviews and assess lung function of residents of a sample of homes with traditional stoves.  Over a period of time after the project has replaced the traditional stoves with eco-stoves in these same homes, we will conduct comparative studies.    

52 Justa Stove Completed and Working

With 52 of the planned 60 Justa stoves now completed and in operation, Nelson Martinez and I returned to Planes on November 30.  We spent 5 days meeting with people in Planes and Playitas and surveying how they feel about their new stoves.  Most of the stoves have been in operation for a month or so, thus we felt that the women who use them would now be able to give us valuable feedback.  [Note: The stoves for the 8 remaining homes in the Planes Project are expected to be completed during the next 2 weeks.  Because of their location, the materials for these stoves have to be delivered to a different location using a different road, located on the other side of the mountain, to make mule transport more manageable.]

Because the houses of Planes are so widely dispersed, we spent two and a half days hiking through the steep terrain to each of the homes to interview the women who do the cooking.  In 28 of the 32 homes that already have completed stoves, we were able to interview the household cook.  No one was home at 3 of the homes (coffee harvesting has just commenced and many people had gone to fincas in the region to earn some income), and in another the brand new stove had not yet been used.  On another day we hiked down to Playitas, where the homes are closer to one another, and interviewed women in 17 homes located there.  No one was at home in one of the houses there.

We employed a brief questionnaire to obtain feedback on a few key topics:

• How often each owner uses her Justa stoves
• How she feels about the new stove
• Does it work well?
• Does the smoke leave the house through the chimney as intended?
• Is it easy to ignite?  How does it compare with her old stove?
• Does it heat rapidly?  How does it compare with her old stove?
• Is she content with the cooking surface (the plancha) and is it big enough?
• Is the heat well dispersed across the surface of the plancha?
• Whether she has noted a change in the quantity of firewood she is using
• Whether she has any problems with, suggestions for, or questions about the new stove

The response received was extremely gratifying, both because the people were so friendly, welcoming and grateful, and because they were without exception very happy with their new stoves.  All of the women report that:

• they use the stove daily
• the stoves are a great improvement
• the smoke now is all going out the chimney
• the Justa stove is easier to ignite
• the plancha heats up rapidly
• the plancha is very nice and sufficiently large
• the heat is distributed well over the plancha’s surface
• they are using far less firewood

Construction defects were observed in just 2 of the stoves.  These stoves will be repaired within the next few days.

All of the interviews were conducted in the kitchen, and in many instances the stove was in operation with an active fire burning within.  We can report with certainty that virtually all of the smoke that used to fill the kitchens is now exiting through the chimneys.  Below is an array of photographs of women/families standing next to their new stoves:

  

Doña Antonia (a Community Health Worker)

 and Don Ismael Ramirez Alvarado

José Cruz del Cid and Family

They Generously Provide Us Tortillas Daily

Donaldo del Cid Guzmán

and Part of His Family

Juan Angel Ferrera (a Community Health Worker), 

Wife Valerina and Two of Their Children

They Plan to Add onto Their House 

to Encompass the Justa Stove

Doña Olga Ferrera (a Community Health Worker)

and Three of Her Children

Ivis Argueta (the Plumber for the PlanesWater Project)

and His Growing Family

Vivian Hernandes and Wife Guiermina Tejada 

of Playitas with Family

In a small number of instances, the homeowners decided not to remove their old stoves until they had some experience with the new stove.  With one exception, they told us that they plan to remove the old stove because they would never use it again. 

The one exception is interesting.  Although she uses her new Justa stove to cook everything else, Isolina Guzman Ramos says she likes to use her old stove to cook frijoles in her well-worn round-bottom clay pot.  She prefers the taste of frijoles cooked in a clay pot over frijoles cooked in a metal one.  Because the new stove has a flat steel plancha as the cooking surface, she cannot set her round-bottom clay pot on it.  We need to investigate whether flat-bottom clay pots are available! 

Isolina’s experience is especially interesting to us, however, because of something that is demonstrated in the photographs.  You will note that in the photographs above, the air in the kitchen is clear and clean – there is no evidence of smoke.  In contrast, take a look at the two photos of Isolina’s kitchen below and note the evident smoke in the air.  While we were there, she was cooking frijoles with her old stove, in the same kitchen where her new stove is located.

Doña Isolina Guzman Ramos

Putting Wood into Fire in Old Stove

  

Doña Isolina with Her New Justa Stove

Notice the Smokey Air from the Old Stove

After completing the interviews in each of the 45 homes visited, Nelson and I held community-wide meetings in Playitas and Planes with all who could attend.  The principle objective of the meeting was to provide detailed instruction on the cleaning and maintenance of the stoves, which entails a number of procedures to be followed at least weekly.  We also took the opportunity to compliment the community on its efforts and to emphasize that the project had proven so successful because they had worked together for a common purpose.  In turn, the community expressed its sincere gratitude to the Virginia Medical Center Brigade, the Lions Club of Comayagua, and the office of Mayor Carlos Miranda of Comayagua for providing the material support required to accomplish so much in so little time.