StoveTeam News

July 6, 2010

2010-07-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

This trip has been amazing. Marco Tulio's factory in Guatemala is beautiful and up and running. Those who helped make the Jardin de las Mujeres will be so excited to see the lovely garden filled with tropical plants.

After the recent hurricane, the two Rotary clubs arranged for a distribution of stoves to a group of people in extreme poverty who lost everything. Now Ana Luisa has started a small educational program for those women to teach them how to start small businesses using the new Ecocina stoves. She has had their children checked by a local physician who has complete documentation on their health. There is such extreme need that it's hard to know where to begin, but Ana Luisa has done it.

We are hoping an elementary school in Eugene will agree to partner with Ana Luisa in her efforts to establish a small school for those children who do not even have shoes and thus cannot attend the local school. All she needs is a bit of money for pencils, paper, crayons and a white board. If you are interested in helping, please let us know.

Upon leaving Guatemala, we traveled six hours to Copan Ruinas, Honduras to meet Anibal, the owner of the new factory. He is utterly amazing. The money from Rotary was delayed for two months, but in that time he just started with whatever he could cobble together. The local Rotary loaned him money to begin, when he didn't have tile-saws, he just used a wooden cable spool with an electric hand saw to make one. The local tile makers had not previously made baldosa tiles, so he taught them how to make them. The women wanted the stoves in pretty colors, so he found cement dye and now the stoves are available in light rose, green, and yellow as well as in grey.

Yesterday Gerry demonstrated the stove factory software to Anibal's son, Eduardo, who was first in his class in sixth grade. I watched Eduardo learn the program and he really understood it all, including depreciation tables, the stove cost calculator and all that's necessary to run a factory. When Gerry finished, Anibal asked if the program would be available for other applications in the valley. We were all thrilled!

Today we are off to meet with the owner of a coffee finca who wants to purchase a large number of stoves, but although the Rotary grant money only arrived yesterday, Anibal has already sold 100 and calls for stoves are coming in at about ten a day.

We're anxious to bring the group here in November as Don Udo's hotel is so beautiful and comfortable, and Rhina's hotel is as well.

If anyone wants to stay after the team, there are language schools, a natural hot springs, horseback trips, archaelogical tours, and much more.

I hope to see you here in November. You're going to love it!

Iquitos, Peru - Amazon River

2010-03-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

Oh Boy! I have just met Carlos, my Rotarian host, and am as excited as can be! I decided to come to Iquitos totally out of the blue as I received an e-mail inquiry about stoves for the Amazon, and here I am.

Tomorrow I will meet with the director of the environmental organization in the morning and then have a driver and moto-taxi to take me around Iquitos to see the market and the zoo. There is a Rotary meeting starting at 9pm and I'll be showing the video that Tom took of the stove recipients in Guatemala, and then we'll try to figure out how to design a stove appropriate for grilling fish.

This club has done many projects with the six villages near Heliconia Lodge, so the following day I'll be staying there and visiting the local villages to investigate local cooking practices.

I can hardly wait!

Airport- Lima

2010-03-16T19:26:00.000-07:00

I'm in the Lima airport again, this time waiting for my flight to Iquitos on the Amazon. I'm not sure what to expect other than a large port city, and I am wondering if I booked too many Amazon adventures and not enough of the other options in Peru, but the opportunity to be hosted just seemed too good to pass up.

Last night I was sitting on the steps of the airport with a mob other travelers awaiting a flight out of Santiago. We entered through a big white tent, and everything went smoothly despite the earthquake, however there was no air conditioning and insufficient seats, so most of us sat on the tile steps awaiting our flights.

The lovely Chilean/American woman next to me said, "This was the worst trip of my life." She and her husband flew to Santiago because their formerly active 27 year old son was suddenly admitted to intensive care with an infection. He spent six weeks there while doctors removed more than three feet of his intestine and told them they didn't think their son would live. Luckily, he improved, but his return flight cost $88,000.00.

Now I know why I have been purchasing travel insurance and making sure that all of our volunteers do the same.

My hostel was amazingly well equipped for $35/night, but I was by myself. I investigated taking a taxi to central Lima, but it would have taken half an hour in each direction, so I walked. I stayed in Miraflores, the area close to the Pacific coast, but my morning walk included such amazing sites as Burger King, Starbucks, TGI Friday's, car dealerships (again), and the Adventist University.

Taxis present a problem in South America because they aren't regulated carefully. In Argentina we were told to take a "remis" as the remises are more reliable and will probably get you directly to your destination for a set price. We took a few, but also took "Radio Taxis" as Mary's school said they were reliable. The problem is to know which is a REAL Radio Taxi and which is a fake one. Here in Peru, you can take any taxi, although Taxi Green seems to be the most reliable. Again, you have to make sure that the taxi has a taxi sign on top of the car, and not just in the window, and you have to make sure it has a reliable business phone number visible. This is all well and good, except how do you know all of that BEFORE you flag down a car? (Mary and I took a few that were obviously NOT Radio Taxis, but we're still alive and don't think we got ripped off...)

The next post will be from Iquitos where I'll be met by my Rotarian host

Santiago, Chile Airport

2010-03-15T14:51:00.000-07:00

Hi all,
You wouldn't think an airport would be all that interesting, but the Santiago airport is. Due to the earthquake, we checked in through a huge white tent outside. There was nothing special for Business Class, we all just stood in line in the heat and it was first come, first served. Everything was very efficient and then we were ushered in to the airport which has no air conditioning or special amenities. It's about 90 degrees and of course none of the few cafes have ice, so everything is either lukewarm or hot! It's a good thing I splurged on an ice cream before I came.

Although I vowed to take a vacation, I've still been talking stoves and found that Southern Chile has areas of need for our little Ecocina. My contact person also says that the Chilean Rotarians are very active and will certainly help. The new government may also be amenable to starting a program. All good news!

In the meantime, I have heard that the government of Mexico is also interested in our project, so if any of you are Rotarians in a Pilot District, we'd love to connect with you as our local Rotary district has money to contribute as soon as we have a Pilot District to use as our conduit for funds.

Keep the faith! This project is going up like a rocket!!!!

Dental Day recap

2010-03-09T08:23:00.001-08:00

There was tons of work done at the dental clinic as they did over 1,250 fluoride varnishes and taught the local people how to do them. The three dentists did exams and pulled lots of teeth, but considering that we couldn't bring things through customs to Guatemala and that we had only two week's notice, we did a great job. Now that we have made contact with the Dental School, who requires 8 months of free social service of all dentists prior to practicing, we'll include a "health fair" as part of stove distribution throughout the country. The Guatemalan dentist was named VELVET. Interesting, eh?

New Itinerary

2010-03-09T06:32:00.000-08:00

LA 422 BUENOS AIRES 12-Mar-10 10:25 llegada 12:40 Santiago
LA 600 SANTIAGO 15-Mar-10 20:10 llegada 22:55 Lima
LP 394 LIMA 16-Mar-10 16:10 llegada 17:56 Iquitos
LP 375 IQUITOS 20-Mar-10 7:10 llegada 8:45 Lima
LA 2567 LIMA 20-Mar-10 12:10 llegada 17:40 LaPaz
LA 2567 LAP 25-Mar-10 18:10 llegada 19:10 Lima
LP 17 LIMA 26-Mar-10 9:55 llegada 11:10 Cuzco
LP 38 CUZCO 30-Mar-10 16:45 llegada 18:00 Lima
LA 600 LIMA 31-Mar-10 00:05 llegada 6:50 Los Angeles
AS 2318 LOS ANGELES 03-Apr-10 llegada 22:50 Eugene

Hi all,
I am very excited to have had communication from a Rotarian in Iquitos, Peru as well as someone in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. As my flight on LAN was changed on the way to Buenos Aires I was given a $1,000 credit for use on other LAN flights this month. So...why not visit the people who need stoves the most?

We spent the last few days in Iguazu Falls being tourists and enjoying ourselves immensely. This morning was spent in Buenos Aires at the LAN office, and this afternoon we will go to the bookstore in a colonial theater where they serve lunch on the stage! Tonight we'll be treated to an asado at Santi's parents home, and tomorrow we're off to an estancia and then the following day we'll be going to Colonia, Uruguay. Of course, there is much more of Argentina to explore, but it can't be done on this trip, so I'll be back to drink white wine in Salta, malbec in Mendoza and visit Patagonia and the glaciers.

I have reservations both in Santiago and Lima and I've just heard from my host in Iquitos that he will meet me at the airport, show me the communities along the river that need stoves, and take me to their Rotary meeting on the following evening. It certainly won't be a normal way to experience the river.

Our trip to the delta near Tigre was fascinating, the tango show was wonderful, and I've eaten enough Argentinian beef to last a lifetime. The liquados are wonderful - my favorite being peach, orange juice, and basil flowers!

Good news keeps flowing in by e-mail. Don is in Fiji and feels he has a good stove project in the works there, and Gerry and Susie are home working on Rotary grants and legal issues. Gail returns from Australia at the end of the month and is on her way to getting the November volunteer trip organized. Larry Winiarski is traveling to El Salvador and Guatemala to check on the stove molds to make sure they are all quality controlled, and Ana Luisa has begun the process of designing outreach health programs to go along with stove distribution in Guatemala.

Life is good!
Nancy

On the way to Buenos Aires, or Peru, or Chile…

2010-03-01T11:51:00.000-08:00

Hi all,
I'm sitting in LAX awaiting a flight that was supposed to go to Buenos Aires, but because of the earthquake in Chile, I guess I'm going to Lima! They can't guarantee anything from there, so it's a bit like hitchhiking...show up and see what shows up.

Before the trip to Guatemala and Honduras is lost, I thought I'd let you know how it all played out.

We started in Antigua and worked quite a bit with Marco Tulio at his factory just outside of San Antonio Aguas Calientes. What an impressive site and how impressive Maco was in showing us his complete business plans. Gerry was delighted to see that Maco understood the accounting issues and the two of them worked on that at some length.

The other issue was that of legal registration of the design and the ownership of it. Frank, Gerry, Bob and I met with attorneys and drafted various documents that now have to be signed and certified in various countries.

Gustavo, Gustavito, Elvira and Luisa came and again we talked about design specifications for the molds, legal registration issues and general factory development issues. In addition, we arranged a dental mission with Jay Lamb as the US dentist, Gustavito as the Salvadoran dentist, and Violet as the Guatemalan dentist. Exciting, especially since we were on the second floor of the municipal building overlooking the first procession of Semana Santa.

Mid-week we traveled with Amilcar in his van to Copan Ruinas. Marco Tulio joined us so that meant time in the car to talk business along the way.

Copan Ruinas was lovely, Don Udo and the other Rotarians were extremely welcoming, so we spent most of our time talking with Don Udo and David about the new factory possibilities. I know the team would love to visit as Copan Ruinas has such interesting surroundings. We're just not sure where/if a factory will be built, but by the end we left it up to the Rotary to figure out the site and the factory owner, but they now have most of their questions answered.

By the end of our stay we had visited the architectural site, learned about the production of noni, met some wonderful people, and visited a natural spa. I bought two fabulous paintings, we overate as usual, and had an incredible journey!

We'll plan a volunteer trip soon, but we want everything in place before we do so.

Keep posted!
Nancy

Dental Day!

2010-02-22T04:53:00.000-08:00

What a day!

This was the second day of dental work, and when we arrived at San Antonio Aguas Calientes there were signs announcing a "Health Fair". University students in green t-shirts with the SANA logo were gathered in the plaza and we were ushered upstairs where our team began setting the process in motion for dental examinations and giving fluoride varnish to children.

Why is StoveTeam doing dental work? When Gustavo Peña started his factory in El Salvador, it was to earn enough to help his son complete dental school. Gustavito has now nearly finished orthodonture studies and continues with a mobile dental unit provided by Dental Care for Children and the Irvine Spectrum Rotary Club to offer services to those in need. Yesterday Gustavito was here working not only with our team but with a local Guatemalan dentist who is completing her studies. It was wonderful to see dentists and volunteers from three countries working together, and we hope to have this continue as at StoveTeam we work with many types of health and environmental initiatives throughout the developing world.

I'd write more, but this morning we're off to work on business development issues with Marco Tulio and then talk to some of the families who have received stoves to see what they think. I'm hoping for a very productive afternoon as the comments I heard from patients yesterday was that the stoves are in high demand and everyone is just waiting for fatory production to get up to speed.

Just an aside...one of the Mayan community leaders told me that a woman told him that she was so excited to have used only TWO STICKS to cook her entire pot of beans on the Ecocina. I asked him how much it normally took to cook that same pot of beans, and he said, "Oh, at least TEN sticks!" That made my day.

Back in Guatemala

2010-02-20T13:35:00.000-08:00

Hi all,
Here we are in Guatemala again with a very small group who has come to do some legal and accounting work and get two new grants going. We will be here for a few days meeting with lawyers and accountants and then go off to Copan Ruinas, Honduras to meet with a new group of people interested in starting another stove factory.

Central America is such a beautiful place, and there is so much to be proud of when we see what Marco Tulio has accomplished with his new factory. Yes, the "Jardin de las Mujeres" is up and going and the women who helped with its construction will be amazed at how things look now. The huge production gallery with metal roof that so many volunteer welders worked on is filled with local employees now welding stove parts together for three separate types of stoves. The little bathroom which made everyone giggle when it was without walls is now connected to the local sewer line, and its walls are of brightly painted metal. We took a tour of the factory, checked the quality of the molds, spoke with Marco Tulio about his ideas of how to change a few things, and then retired to a local Chapin-Mexican restaurant to talk about the types of accounting Marco Tulio needs to be developed with the new Business Development Grant.

This morning, while a few of us met with our Guatemalan lawyers, Jay Lamb went with Marco Tulio's wife, Ana Luisa, to a school in Jocotenango to teach the teachers and others how to put fluoride varnish on the teeth of the school children. There were 142 recipients of fluoride varnish and many of the teachers learned how to put on the varnish in the future. We expect to return within six months with more fluoride varnish, but although volunteers from the U.S. will be valuable, the varnish can now be administered by the school teachers.

Gustavito, the son of the factory owners in El Salvador, is now only eight months away from becoming an orthodontist, and he not only helped in today's venture, but will be coming in the future to do this type of outreach. All of this is thanks to some very nice Rotarians from the Irvine Spectrum Rotary Club who provided many of the items needed to start Gustavito's mobile dental practice.

Tomorrow we'll be going to the Mayan community where the first Ecocina stoves from Marco Tulio's factory were distributed. They are very anxious to learn how to do fluoride varnish as well, but in the meantime, they have been selling more and more Ecocina stoves to the members of their community. Guatemala Sur Rotary and Irvine Spectrum Rotary were also responsible for the grant that provided the start-up monies for this program. Again, without their help this would not have been possible.

While more stove distribution continues in Guatemala, some of us will be working on the Business Development side of things. As I write this, Gustavo Peña of El Salvador Jay Lamb and Gerry Reicher from Eugene Southtowne Rotary Club are meeting to discuss accounting practice.

Yesterday, when Gerry met with Marco Tulio, and today while Gerry and Jay meet with Gustavo, their mission is to learn what the factory owners feel is necessary with regard to business development, and tomorrow they will be presenting the information back to them as an accounting package specifically developed for exactly what they need.

So, to wrap this up, we're working intensely and hope to get back to you about what we're up to, but it may not be for a bit. We're all well, we're all having a great time, and yes, the volcano is spewing ash, but the only problem is that the chairs around the swimming pool have to be cleaned off every morning before you can relax in the sun!

New YouTube Video

2010-02-16T09:53:00.001-08:00

I know you'll enjoy this video made by Gustavo Peña, our factory owner in El Salvador. It's in both Spanish and English.

Nancy

Letter from Gustavo

2010-01-21T07:11:00.000-08:00

Gustavo Peña, the first Ecocina factory owner, was asked by Rotary International publicity department to answer a few questions about his relationship with StoveTeam International and if it had changed his life. I think you'll be fascinated by his answers. I know I was.

-----(here is my translation of his letter in Spanish-----

1) What did you do for work before engaging in the production of Ecocina stoves?

When I finished high school, I was hunted by the death squads. At that time I looked to others to understand our rights as students, and as I was born in a rural community, I became involved in a movement which was then called Catholic Action. Our job was to get aid to the needy, but at that time any person involved in humanitarian aid was accused of being a communist. Because my mother was afraid of my being killed like many of my friends and teachers, she gave me money to illegally travel to Los Angeles, California. I found work at Sewing Machine Empire on Main and 1st. Streets. in downtown Los Angeles, and there I assembled industrial sewing machines for about a year and a half. Then I worked for six months as a messenger at a printing press, and delivered classified documents to a company called Bechtel Corporation, which at that time was designing the space shuttle.

In May 2004 I was deported back to El Salvador, and on my return many of my friends were missing because of the death squads, and I was still in danger. I was home only 3 months and then went to Montreal, Canada where I spent a year working in a plastic products factory that made spoons, knives, forks and computer cases. Montreal is very cold, so I decided to travel to Vancouver where I worked in agriculture driving a tractor to prepare the land in a place called Richmond. Then I found a new job in Vancouver for a company that repaired phones for BCtel. The company name was Stuart Plastics, and its owner is Sanders who is called Max, and I have not heard anything from them since. I've only had contact with a friend named Salvador Pacheco, who still lives near Vancouver (unsalvita@hotmail.com).

In 1980 I returned to El Salvador and was married in 1981. I have three children, the eldest is a dentist, the second lives in North Carolina and the third wants to go to college in the United States to study architecture.

2) How is that you met Larry Winiarski and began your association with Stove Team International? When did you open the factory?

My first job upon returning from Canada was selling motorcycles in 1982. I then worked as a supervisor of the company DIANA, a Salvadoran company that sells packaged foods (junk food, Nachos, potatoes, etc.). One day I met a gringo who did not speak very good Spanish, and I approached him to help as I always do, and he offered me a job as a translator. He was exporting exotic animals from Central America to Miami. After three years his license was suspended, and I lost my job. I then worked making small plaques for the army. I took this opportunity so I wouldn’t have problems with the army, and through them I got a visa to the United States.

After that work I traveled to Houston, Texas to buy used vehicles. I brought them to El Salvador and sold them for a normal profit that helped me maintain my home. I left this job when a Colombian offered me a job to bring in money hidden in cars to Nicaragua. This money was from drug trafficking, and I began to feel some pressure and decided not to work in Houston anymore. My children were young and these people would not forgive you. I'd rather be free and employed rather than a person with money who works illegally.

It was then, in 1992, that I decided to start a pizza business.

In 2000 I met Sean Ahearn through a childhood friend, Octavio Duran. Octavio was always very close to Archbishop Romero up until the day the Archbishop was murdered in church on a Sunday in 1980. Luis Alonzo is my cousin and he and my cousin Reinaldo have been my friends since childhood, and they introduced me to this gringo, Sean Ahearn. Sean and Octavio founded a non-profit organization, Project Light House, to bring aid to the neediest communities in El Salvador. Sean offered me a job working with their projects in El Salvador, and the main office was built in a community clinic in Santa Cruz near my town. They began sending used medical equipment to various clinics in El Salvador, the clinic is now run by AGAPE which was founded by Father Flavian Muchi a Franciscan priest who had come from Boston and who had been working here for many years. He began working with Project Light House and met Avi Davis who became friends with Sean at a gym in the YMCA. Avi had come to El Salvador to start some solar energy projects. In 2006, Avi decided to launch a project in Suchitoto, a picturesque village north of San Salvador, and one of the towns hardest hit by the war. He was looking for someone to teach us how to build an efficient stove, and that's how we contacted NETWORKS, an organization in San Salvador, who collaborated on an initial project to build 30 stoves.

After follow-up studies, some families complained that the difference between this new stove and the traditional open fire wasn’t much. so, Avi returned to the United States and sought professional help to improve the stoves that were already built in Suchitoto, and to continue to make an improved model. Avi knew Larry Winiarski and convinced him to come to El Salvador and with his knowledge help us to continue to help more families who use wood as cooking fuel.

Larry arrived in El Salvador in early 2008, and once we met with Larry, we realized we could work together. In a conversation a few days before Larry returned to the United States, he began talking about a lady who might be interested in starting a new project, and he put it this way, “Gustavo there is a lady in Oregon who has some experience with stoves in Guatemala, and at this time I know you don’t know much about stoves, but I can tell that you have a good attitude and like to work. Listen, I do not promise anything but we'll see what happens ...”

Days passed and Larry wrote to me once in a while and told me he had already started talking to Nancy but she was not excited.

In the middle of that year, Larry came to Nicaragua for a conference on the environment and invited me and told me that he had spoken to Stuart Conway of Trees-Water-People and asked him to give me a scholarship to attend this conference. I remember that we traveled in my old Jeep Cherokee, and when we were 4 hours from Managua, right before the city of Chinandega, the radiator broke. We reached Managua the next day at about four o'clock, and then I had the pleasure of meeting Stuart, to whom I will be forever grateful for the opportunity of engaging in the improved stoves program. It was at this conference that I also had the opportunity of meeting Brenda Dorowski who came on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

When we returned to El Salvador we had another mechanical problem in Choluteca, Honduras. We were there only 20 minutes with a broken transmission and had to leave. A young boy, Chris, from San Lorenzo, without a word listened to our instructions, and helped us with the problem. The next day we traveled by bus to El Salvador, and had to return to get my old Cherokee a week later.

My surprise came when Larry told me, “Gustavo, Nancy wants to help with a small pilot project, so I'll stay a few days at your home to see what we can do. Larry began to purchase materials and with the tools that he had brought from the United States, we made a short list of materials and started working on the development of the first Ecocina. Our workshop was only three and a half meters long and two meters wide. After three days Larry asked me to hire one more person to help us, and we hired Salvador, who has been with us since that day.

Larry, working slowly but surely, started to make some drawings and a few mathematical equations and built the Ecocina. Whenever we needed some money, there was Nancy as a guardian angel protecting us and giving us strength to continue with the design.

After almost three weeks the Ecocina first saw the light and has since evolved from a stove with a metal body to one of ferro-cement.

Nancy was so excited by the project in November 2007 she decided to come to El Salvador and meet me personally. From that time Nancy has been, with all of the members of Stove Team International, the pillar that has sustained the dream of continuing to help all of the families using fuel-wood for cooking.

I believe that neither Nancy nor I, nor some of the volunteers who first came to El Salvador, imagined that we would reach this far. And as Larry said one day, “This is not a coincidence, Gustavo. This is what God intended, and this is what happened between Larry, Nancy and me.

We stopped producing the metal stove because the value of metal was not stable, and that's how Don Steely and I began designing the mold for Ecocina that we are currently producing.

Nancy and a group of volunteers gave me the biggest boost in February 2008 and helped build a roof, a wall of more than 25 meters long and 3 meters high, and on that occasion I had the honor of meeting people for whom I have great memories and give thanks.

To achieve the model currently manufactured and distributed in Central America I had the direct collaboration of Don. Don worked for months looking for the best way to produce the Ecocina on a larger scale, and after several months of trial and error, I managed something even Don thought could not be achieved. With the help and ideas from different sources, and especially from Don, we managed to design a uniform mold with which we can make a very strong single-piece stove. I really thank Don for his drive, for without it there it would not be possible to have much of what we have today.

3) What is your job in the Ecocina stove factory?

In the factory I have to work as an orchestra conductor. I direct the production in collaboration with Salvador and Nery, my right arm, and they manage the production.
On the administrative side, my wife, Rosa Elvira, and my son Gustavito's girlfriend, Luisa, help me.

On the promotional and public relations side I establish contacts with organizations, communities and even government people, although the latter is more difficult as they possibly still are not aware of climate change, and although the stove is not the only solution, it improves health greatly and reduces deforestation.

I also like to explore the ideas and knowledge that I gained with Larry and Don, and at this time I have my own designs, a stove which is very useful in schools, and I have a two-burner, a small laptop stove for people who like outdoor life, and finally, with the help of Ken Goyer, a friend of Nancy and Larry’s, we are producing an oven. Ken has an NGO called AidAfrica, and Ken is doing great humanitarian work in Uganda. Hopefully someone could collaborate with him to continue this program.

4) Nancy mentioned to me that you help other stove factory owners with the production of the Ecocina (INCATEC people in Choluteca, Honduras). What kind of help do you give the new owners of factories Ecocina stoves?

Help given to the persons or institutions that want to start producing Ecocina stoves is one of my priorities. I feel morally committed to STI because of what they have done for me here in El Salvador, and for this reason I help others establish their businesses. The most important help we offer is to invite interested parties to visit our factory. We give them accommodation and train them for a week or however long they need to begin businesses without any difficulty.

"He traveled to Honduras to help the people at INCATEC?”

Not only have I traveled to Honduras, I have traveled to the second project of Nancy and STI that they started in Guatemala where Marco Tulio Guerra is in charge. He is a Guatemalan Nancy knew from a previous project. The problems Nancy had with the previous project would have discouraged Nancy from continuing to make stoves, but thank God Larry and I managed to make her continue, and today I think she is very happy to have continued. The factory of Marco Tulio is in a picturesque town near Antigua, Guatemala. Stove Team helped him build his factory in November last year and they have planned another visit in mid-February this year.

In Choluteca the story is the same. More than a year ago we contacted the Rotary Clubs of Managua, Leon and Choluteca.

As always, with her drive, Nancy’s work has already been completed with a Matching Grant for both Leon and Choluteca. These two groups have both come to receive training at the factory here in El Salvador.

After the training phase in the workshop I go to each of their countries and collaborate with them on both the production and demonstrations that I think are one of the components that I personally like the most. Interacting with people has been my hobby since my youth, and being with people and passing on what I know is what I like best.
How many factories have been established thanks to your help?

So far are three factories that are producing Ecocina stoves. They are in Guatemala; Choluteca, Honduras; and Leon, Nicaragua. Also, the people from PROLEÑA have had some training and they are ready for second phase of training whenever Rotary International approves money for a project. StoveTeam has been contacted by many countries such as Belize, Mexico and even countries in South America who are interested in the Ecocina.

5) How many people work at your factory?

Right now there are twelve. There are ten in production and two in administration.

6) Have you seen firsthand how the factories have improved the quality of life in El Salvador?

Creating jobs and become self-sustaining has been a priority since the start of STI. For example, I have a boy who cannot read or write. Will, as a boy, lost an eye. Guadeloupe can barely read, and if Nancy and STI had not brought help to set up this factory these people would be unemployed. Their lack of education does not allow them to get decent and dignified work, and here we are all very grateful because it has changed the lives of all of us, and for me personally it has helped me better prepare my eldest son Gustavo, who now can pay to attend a university in Guatemala which specializes in orthodontics. Before Nancy and StoveTeam International, I had no hope that my son would be a better professional. More than this, Nancy and her volunteer friends have helped my son and my family with medical equipment and so he can work on his own. You can see how life has changed us, and we are all eternally grateful.

7) Do you know anyone (friends, family, acquaintances) who has an Ecocina stove? If the answer is yes, how has it improved your life? Have you sent your factory Ecocina stoves outside El Salvador? What countries?

In one of the first reports from a television channel with national coverage there was the testimony of a mother with her son who has had asthma, and since she has used the Ecocina her son has improved every day. This lady is very grateful, and you can see this interview on YouTube or obtain it from Nancy.

In August of 2008 I was invited to Mexico by an NGO to participate in a conference on the environment. I brought an Ecocina in my luggage, and everyone was surprised. Since that date I have been trying to sell the Ecocina to the government of Mexico, and finally last year I got an order for 3,000. In January this year we sent the first 500, and we hope to send at least one container every month.

8) Is there anything else you'd like to tell about your Ecocina factory StoveTeam International?

The Ecocina might not be the best in the world, but what I can guarantee is the most important features are: It is portable (some families use them to work outside their homes selling local dishes. It has low fuel consumption, 40% compared with traditional cooking, and it eliminates smoke.

And regarding my relationship with STI, especially my friendship with Nancy, Gerry, Don, Susie and Gail, it has been scarred forever in my heart. I never tire of expressing my gratitude and not just for what they do for me, but for all who do factory work and the benefit they give to all those families who receive an Ecocina. I also thank Rotary International as they have been one of the strongest supporters to help us pull through,

With all of the effort we all do to promote and distribute the Ecocina in rural areas, the most important supporter for us has been the Peace Corps. I believe that 50% of the success of this program is due to the hard work these young people make, and I recall that early in 2008, a young volunteer came to us with the intention of distributing the Ecocina. His name is Martin Zanin, a young gringo with a big heart, who not only helped us to teach more volunteers but who was our official spokesperson within the structure of the Peace Corps. After Martin we began a close relationship with them, and now the Ecocina is a part of the training program of the Peace Corps here in El Salvador. I can say that we do to least about eight demonstrations per month and they are responsible for the delivery of over 80% of the Ecocina stoves to the neediest communities. The volunteers are so convinced of its effectiveness they are even asking for funds for the Ecocina from other organizations in the United States to help to finance projects in their communities. I would also like to give them our thanks.

Peace Corps

2010-01-16T15:55:00.000-08:00

More good news from Kelsey Stamm, a former Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador...

"It was so great working with Stove Team when I was a Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador. And it was amazing seeing first hand how one little stove can change so many lives so dramatically."

Guatemala StoveTeam project

2010-01-16T14:10:00.000-08:00

I received this e-mail from Juan Carlos Cheves of Guatemala Sur Rotary yesterday. I know you'll be pleased with his report....
HI Nancy,

Today I had lunch with the McCluskey’s in Antigua. They are a super nice family. After lunch, we went out to visit Marco Tulio’s new facility. We were all very impressed by the progress he has made at the new location in just two months! Jim said that it is more organized than the one in El Salvador.

I took the opportunity to give Marco Tulio the first check for the purchase of the initial 250 stoves.

Best Regards,

JC

Excitement for 2010

2010-01-12T08:06:00.001-08:00

It's been a heck of a week here at StoveTeam International headquarters, and I'd like to bring you up to date on the latest news, but it will be brief as there is so much to do.

EL SALVADOR - Gustavo Peña sent us the TWO front page articles from newspapers in El Salvador showing his first shipment of 500 stoves to Chiapas, Mexico. His factory no longer receives any support from Rotary grants, and he's well on his way to success.

HONDURAS - Gustavo is employed by us as a consultant and is also doing some work for us this week in Choluteca, Honduras to help with their initial production of stoves. The stoves are well accepted and he's giving demonstrations to villages and teaching the INCATEC and Rotary people how to do promotions.

Welcome news also arrived from Copan Ruinas, Honduras. David Sedat is on-board with starting a stove production facility. He and his family have a business in the area and are willing to expand it to include the Ecocina stoves. He's a member of the local Rotary and we will meet with him on our upcoming trip in mid-February. We proposed a grant to Rotary District 5110 this week, and it has been approved pending confirmation from Rotary International.

- ROTARY NEWS We attended the District 5110 Rotary World Community Service meeting this past week and not only received approval for the Honduras grant, but also for a Business Development grant to aid factory owners in learning good business practices. It continues our effort to make the factories profitable and sustainable.

- GUATEMALA Juan Carlos Cheves has met with Marco Tulio Guerra in Guatemala and they have come to an agreement regarding distribution of the money from Irvine Spectrum/Guatemala Sur Rotaries, and stove production will begin immediately. There is a Central America Rotary Fair in Antigua the end of this month, and our stoves will be featured there as well.

- VOLUNTEER REUNION Sunday was the reunion party for the volunteer group who went to Guatemala in November, and not only were most of the participants there, but Beatriz and Fred were there from Nicaragua. We are meeting with them this week to complete the process of becoming a non-profit subsidiary in Nicaragua as well as other Central American countries.

- PRESS If you haven't seen the article in Sun Valley Magazine, please take a look at the Media section of the website. I've been interviewed quite a bit lately, and we'll continue to post the press as it appears.

Nancy

December 31, 2009

2009-12-31T08:53:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

It's the end of an extremely productive year for StoveTeam International. Funding has arrived from the Irvine Spectrum/Guatemala Sur Rotary grant for Marco Tulio Guerra's factory in San Antonio Aguas Calientes, Guatemala. Funding has also arrived from a Eugene Southtowne/Choluteca Rotary grant for production of stoves at INCATEC, a technical school in Choluteca, Honduras. We have a signed agreement for Ecocina stove production in collaboration with Trees Water People at the Proleña factory in Managua, Nicaragua, and we are waiting for paperwork to be completed for a Eugene Southtowne/Leon Rotary grant in Leon, Nicaragua.

Our new focus is Business Development, and we are submitting a proposal to Rotary District 5110 to work with Sirama Rotary in San Miguel, El Salvador to assist new factory owners with accounting, business projections, and general business procedures.

Gustavo Peña's factory, Inversiones Falcon, in Nahulingo, El Salvador has completed the production of all stoves for the final grant with Santa Ana Rotary, and he is now producing and selling stoves as an independent factory. I heard from him yesterday that he is in negotiation with someone in Mexico who will be ordering 500 Ecocina stoves monthly. How exciting to know that his factory is doing well on its own. He continues to be employed by us on a consulting basis and will be traveling to various sites to check on production and quality control in 2010.

Other exciting news is that the very first Ecocina stove was produced in Paraguay and there are people interested in starting a factory.

Don Steely traveled to Fiji in late December and has interest from a group in Savusavu. Of course, we'd all love to visit Fiji....

The publicity supplied by the Eugene Weekly, the Register Guard and Sun Valley Magazine has also helped bring attention to the project. The New Yorker did a nice piece on Aprovecho Research Center that also brought attention to the stoving world. Aprovecho has supported us, tested our stove, given us advice, and continues to support our work with the Ecocina in Central America. Our stove continues to be the very best for much of the world, and we love the idea that it is produced locally thus giving employment to those who would otherwise be unemployed.

Of course, all we're trying to do is provide employment, contribute to better health, reduce deforestastion, and save the world.....and YOU are part of the effort. We absolutely couldn't do it without you.

So, thank you and have a wonderful 2010!!!!

Breaking NEWS!!!

2009-12-12T14:56:00.001-08:00

Don Steely in the field

2009-11-12T17:19:00.000-08:00

9am photos at San Antonio square...then split in two groups for symbolic delivery of three stoves per group. Took stoves into homes, set them up and reviewed proper procedures. Once again, all were impressed by poverty and gratitude of recipients....we delivered one to a family that had just lost their son last month.

Back to factory for more roofing, painting, and beginning work on pouring a foundation for the retaining wall. Lunch again by local ladies.

A few stopped at wooden fruit factory on the way back to the hotel. Now off to Sabe Rico for dinner.

Tomorrow a trip up the mountain to watch/help ladies gather firewood. Then back to the factory to complete the roof and retaining wall. At three we go to demonstrate stoves and do a stove distribution. Tomorrow is a free day.

note: village ladies made great lunches

Don Steely in Guatemala

2009-11-11T09:01:00.000-08:00

Today we welded up more roof rafters, put on roofing, finished a bit of rock wall, painted more roofing and dug 2'deep trenches for the footing of a retaining wall.....some of us are pretty whipped. Quit about 4 and went to weaving museum/retail store outside of San Antonio. Then to dinner at the place on the hill in San Antonio Aguas Calientes. We had the same thng as the community ladies had prepared for lunch, but a different recipe and no one noticed, or at least no one complained. Today was Fred/Beatriz 16th anniversary.

Tomorrow a late start (7:30 breakfast instead of 7) and a morning village trip. And then to the factory to work, work, work.

Susie Hanner in Central America

2009-11-10T21:14:00.000-08:00

Today was much better in the productivity dept. We started the day at the old factory, and the team was very interested to see the new process for making the stoves, and people were impressed with the flower plantings, the rock walls, etc. When we arrived at the new factory, there was an electrical cable running down the side of the road for at least 2 blocks worth to provide electricity to the site. Yes, a real electrical cable! So welding was finally begun, and since it's happening at least 10 feet up in the air, Bob the expert welder is doing the work, not the neophytes. We finished the 2 rock walls that surround the garden, did a lot more weeding, and got some more painting of sheet metal completed after several hours were spent locating some paint. Tomorrow, more of the same, including beginning a retaining wall at the uphill end of the site.

People seem to be enjoying the dinner program: a different restaurant every nite. Tonight's was at a place with live Latino music that we discovered last week.

We've been doing remarkably well re: communication, in spite of little common language. Gustavo and Beatriz have been super, and Jack is also happy to help out there. The rest of us get a lot accomplished with sign language and the few words that we pick up along the way.

Susie Hanner

2009-11-10T19:46:00.000-08:00

Today was rather disappointing workwise for several reasons. #1: The generator that Maco rented to run the welding equipment didn't put out enough juice, and the closest one that's adequate is in Guatemala City. Supposedly it's being sent our way for tomorrow. So that put one work crew out of work. Next the sheet metal that was supposed to arrive between 9:30 and 10 for the painting crew didn't arrive until 3:30.

And last, we didn't have the cement that we needed to build the rock wall until about 2, so until then we did a lot of weeding, shoveling, etc. But then we really blitzed on the rock wall. Rumor has it that real electricity may be brought to the site tomorrow.

Don Steely writing

2009-11-09T07:50:00.000-08:00

Breakfast buffet at Fernandos and on the bus by 8am. Some of us got stuck for 10 minutes in the middle of a marathon on the way to the factory. At the factory, a brief intro to all the factory personnel and then to work. Painted a lot of roofing panels and C-channel beams for the roof. Installed about 350 sq ft roofing (20ft off the ground). Did a lot of grounds cleaning and dirt moving.Half of us are covered with paint splatters, the other half with lots of dirt. Everyone seems to have way too much fun while working…another great group of volunteers.

Lunch was a fabulous chicken pepian with vegetable rice and horchata…prepared by ladies in the village, of course on ecocina stoves. Lots of us got practice making and cooking tortillas.

Dinner at Fusion (mahimahi, mashed potoates and vegies), again, delcious. We have a few sore bodies tonight, but everyone has been incredibly well fed and anxious for another fun work day.

Eugene Weekly

2009-10-29T20:40:00.001-07:00

Check it out! We're in the Eugene Weekly today in the Best of Eugene issue....in the NEWS section.....

LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP!

2009-10-20T20:57:00.000-07:00

This week's the last time to sign up for the November 7th trip to Guatemala, and it should be a super trip. Don Steely and Susie Hanner will be taking a team of 20 volunteers to Guatemala to help Marco Tulio Guerra set up a factory to produce Ecocina stoves, and he has done a great job of advance planning.

A local Mayan village will have each volunteer assigned to a family so the volunteers will go to the market, prepare the mid-day meal, and then go gather wood. This way everyone will learn the entire circle of life in Guatemala FIRST HAND. Volunteers will be paired with local factory workers so you'll get to make friends with someone who actually works in Marco Tulio's factory and see what it takes to make a stove.

If you want to learn to weld in advance of the trip, there is a group learning to weld this Sunday, so send us an e-mail at info@stoveteam.org if you'd like to join the group.

Remember…if you want to come, just complete an on-line application and send it off this week.

Nancy

We made the TV news!

2009-10-20T20:55:00.000-07:00

Hey there!

StoveTeam International made the evening news! Check us out at

http://www.kval.com/news/local/64647477.html

and this week we'll be in the Eugene Weekly as well. Pick up a copy on Friday.

Nancy

Nicaragua

2009-10-09T08:38:00.000-07:00

October 9, 2009

The van arrived at 8am for our trip to Leon, and after collecting everyone at Beatriz and Fred’s home we were off. The Leon Rotarians had responded very quickly to our request for a meeting and we had an extremely informative meeting with them at the factory where Don Juan is producing Eco Fogon stoves. I had met Don Juan nearly three years ago when he worked for Proleña and again last year when Ken, Ethan and I had had an initial meeting with the Leon Rotary to judge their level of interest in our program.

The meeting went extremely well, and despite the Rotary funding having dropped from $56,000 per grant to $16,000 for this grant, the club was extremely interested. They proposed a tree-planting program in conjunction with stove production and distribution, but the difficulty of implementation at the same time as implementing a stove program didn’t seem to make sense.

Susie played a big role in explaining the intricacies of the grant, Beatriz served as a bi-lingual translator, and the rest of us chimed in as necessary. The Board of Directors of Leon Rotary had already approved the project at a meeting the night before and they had very specific questions. We were able to address their concerns and all that was left was a bit of time for “official Rotary photos” of the signing of the documents.

We had hoped to meet with attorneys here in Nicaragua, but as we hadn’t heard from anyone, it seemed only appropriate to go to the beach where we again suffered from traditional StoveTeam over-eating. Who could resist a deep-fried entire red snapper accompanied by a plate of six lobster tails……….a fish and lobster tail for each person!

The lovely outdoor café was a perfect respite from the heat, a walk on the beach followed. We returned to the van and to Leon at Roberto’s home where we were presented with Rotary Leon polo shirts, hats and bags of the most delicious smelling Ben Linder Organic Coffee you can imagine. It was especially touching since Ben Linder was originally from Portland and is revered in Nicaragua for his work to build dams.

The return to Managua was uneventful as we returned to our new home away from home with Beatriz and Fred.

October 10, 2009

It was an early morning with a typical Nica breakfast of tortillas, home-made cheese, and pickled onions accompanied by cafe con leche and some cinnamon toast. Beatriz' mother complimented us as she said many of her previous guests had turned up their noses at typical food, but we had tried everything. I'm still not sure that has been a good idea as the food here is so wonderful it's easy to put on the pounds.

Marlyng joined us for a meeting with Don Franz of Managua Rotary this morning, and it's always a challenge to find a place to meet as there are no street names or addresses used in Managua. It's still a matter of saying, "Oh, behind the cathedral, next to the post office, in the beige house with flowers that is two blocks to the west." If you don't get it right the first time, it can be a real challenge.

We did, however, make the meeting and learned that the reason our grant request had been denied was not due to lack of acceptance of our work, but rather that the Managua Rotary had sponsored a water project in the north and the non-profit had absconded with the funds. Now it's a matter of straightening out all of the paperwork and getting their club back in the good graces of Rotary International.

Marlyng showed up from Proleña, and Don Franz indicated that if Marlyng approved of the project, he was satisfied. He was, however, a bit concerned that in Nicaragua the wood is extremely hard and the people don't have any tools other than machetes, so he worried that people would not be able to find wood in small enough pieces. We assured him that branches, twigs and corn cobs could be used for the fire, so we hope it won't be a problem. It's the reason we are starting with small projects to see about acceptance of the stove.

Proleña had tried to produce a household stove in the past but couldn't produce one for less than $100, so if the people here can learn to use twigs and trash wood, we have a winner the inexpensive Ecocina.

Gerry and I are off to LAX this morning and Don and Susie have another day before their four-legged return to Portland. Hey, the airfare was cheap, so we'll see how they like it!

We will be back on the web at the beginning of November, so look for more news then!