— Breath of Fresh Air

Tamales and Climate Change

March 6, 2018
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150,000

cookstoves have been installed by this project

Doña Ercilia has lived in the farming village of Malguara Intibuca, Honduras, for her entire 52 years. When her mother died, she left the cooking and care of two young nephews to Doña Ercilia. However, the smoke from her cooking was filling the house and leaving her, and the two boys, struggling to breathe. When she heard about the improved cookstoves from Proyecto Mirador, she knew that she had to have one because it uses half the firewood and reduces harmful smoke. If she were able to provide a contribution of bricks and mortar (about $15), the project would build the stove and supply the specialized stove parts. So, Doña Ercilia got to work and created her own small business cooking tamales to sell to the community to earn enough to buy the construction materials. For several weeks, she spent her mornings making fresh tamales, then selling them in the afternoon. She got her cookstove! Now she has a healthier home for her and her nephews, more time to cook, AND a new business to help support her nephews, her family, and the village school. Over 150,000 cookstoves have been installed by this project, including 22,500 in 2017 alone. Over one million tonnes of CO2 emissions have been eliminated, all while the project creates local jobs, reduces household smoke, and saves forests by reducing fuel consumption. Doña Ercilia and 650,000 other Hondurans who benefit from these stoves send a warm and heartfelt “Thank you for your support!”
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