Peter Schild, El Salvador Hola,
I would like to inform you that I work as an unpaid volunteer (65 + x years old) since one month 2 days per week in the factory of the Stove Team of Sonsonate, El Salvador.
Just by accident I visited the Stove Team factory about 8 weeks ago. When I first heard about producing stoves which are run by wood I was suspicious. But then I learnt about the danger of the exposure of smoke from traditional cookstoves and how important it is to reduce the amount of smoke. Although I live already more than 2 years in Central-America I have thought about the huge amount of wood cut every year for cooking purpose but never about the exposure of smoke. And reducing the amount of wood by nearly 70% when using the new designed stove will not only reduce the exposure of smoke, the cost of cooking for the poor but although decrease the huge amount of trees – estimated nearly 500,000 trees only in this small country like El Salvador – which every year are cut down. Therefore I’m glad to help a little bit the Stove team.
But there are 2 other reason why I like to work for that team in Sonsonate. (Actually is not directly Sonsonate, but nearby) Gustavo Peña and his wife Elvira who run the Stove Team factory are both not only very nice to their employees but although socially very much engaged. Let me give you just one little example. Two weeks ago, on a Sunday Gustavo, his wife and I delivered stove to a very poor village. We had planned to spend in the afternoon few hours at the beach. But just before heading for the beach we have been told that one young boy had broken his arm. Straightaway Gustavo and his wife offered to bring the really suffering boy to the next hospital which is about 50 Miles away.
The most exciting outlook why I like to work for Stove Team in Sonsonate is the plan that we will soon implement training opportunities for young people to get them finally in a job. The aim is not only train them in soldering, cutting and so on in handcraft but although basic in mathematics and all the things you need to become a good handcraft worker. To understand this aim you have to bear in mind that a lot of young people visited school often less than 2 years.
As I’m convinced that education will be one of the main key to break poverty I love to work for Gustavo and his wife Elvira, for the Stove Team in Sonsonate Peter Schild, the still young German guy