Reducing Smoke, Time and Timber:
Cost-effective efficient wood stoves are introduced to communities in Southeastern Mexico
Ironically, during an efficient wood stove workshop in
Veracruz, a family labors to push its second load of
firewood past the participants.
“The stove works very well. I use it all the time because it doesn’t heat up the house as much and there is less smoke.” - Reyna Cortez Gonzalez, Arroyo del Caña, Veracruz, Mexico.
In many homes in rural Mexico, as in other parts of the world, wood is gathered to fuel the cooking needs of the family. A commonly used - but inefficient and hazardous - stove consists of a three-stone open fire usually sitting upon a sturdy wooden table. A mano of wood lasts about a week and is gathered by women and often children. This task demands more and more time and effort as local deforestation increases. In populations that rely on the traditional cooking fire, respiratory problems are prevalent due to the amount of smoke and particulates that are generated. Other health and safety concerns pertain to skin injuries and fire hazards from flying embers and hot surfaces.
In the Mexican states of Chiapas and Veracruz, USAID, through the sponsored Mexico Renewable Energy Program (MREP), and the Natural History and Ecology Institute are teaching people how to build efficient low-cost wood burning stoves in several communities. The design is similar to models referred to as the Lorena and Rocket. The materials for a small, but effective, portable model cost less than twelve dollars. Interested groups, particularly comprised of women, are being taught not only how to build, but also how to sell them. The new stove efficiently reaches higher cooking temperatures, thus reducing cooking times by more than half, consuming less than half as much wood and dramatically diminishing indoor air emissions and smoke. The stove’s lower external temperature and contained firebox reduce accidental injuries and fire hazards.
In the community of Frontera Corozal, Chiapas, a group of women participated in an MREP sponsored workshop to encourage micro enterprise development related to constructing and selling the stoves. Shortly after the course and testing the new product in their own homes, the women formed a small business group called X’iu Matiel. They initially produced and sold more than 20 units in the community. Months later the group had evolved from selling the efficient wood stove to selling tamales cooked on the stove.
At first, about 25% of those who tried the stove did not adopt it for everyday use for reasons related to design elements, such as the lack of a grate of sufficient size to hold large pots and the size and shape of the wood pieces the stove could accommodate. Feedback from the users has been very helpful to stove designers and builders as they improve the models. In many homes, especially large households, the new stove is used in parallel with the traditional one. The stove is gaining acceptance for exclusive use as cooks learn to make small adjustments to their cooking habits. Successive generations of design improvements will also encourage broader acceptance.
