“I feel like my eyes have been opened more to the world. I have been able to see the way that others live, and I have learned much about Guatemalan culture. The families welcomed us with open arms into their homes and I am very glad to have had this experience.”

“The volunteer trip made me realize the profound changes StoveTeam can achieve. I wasn’t aware how much wood is needed to cook on an open fire and how much deforestation is due to the practice of gathering wood. I was impressed to see how much wood can be saved using the Ecocina. Families that only used the Ecocina were using much less wood.”

“I would like to continue participating, once or twice a year, year after year after year… as long as our job involves Kitchen Performance Tests or other significant, direct contact with villagers. It’s the most meaningful international volunteer work I’ve ever done.”

“I love Latin America… I love meeting the people of the campo and speaking with them. I appreciate the chance to do a meaningful task that takes me into their homes and allows a bond of communication and mutual understanding to occur. I value the mission of StoveTeam to provide support to a local entrepreneur to produce and distribute stoves locally.”

“Every night we arrived home exhausted yet satisfied—knowing we have learned more about a new culture and a small difference in another person’s life.”

“The world is a smaller place because we were able to smile together, work together, communicate with hands, nods and simple words. The child that was at first terrified of us, nursed comfortably at its mothers breast within the half hour. We bridged to connect.”

“We probably would not rise to the call of travel if we had to plan and execute on our own. Taking advantage of StoveTeam’s efforts in their trip structure allows us to move more confidently than we would otherwise. This allows us to rise to a higher contribution. Your efforts help make us better people, allowing us to be more giving than we would otherwise. We give money to charities, mostly through church, but the structured StoveTeam trips allows us to give not just money, but more of ourselves. I do hope that I have been able to convey what your efforts enable us to be more whole and able to give more in a meaningful way to a very meaningful cause.”

“I truly have never been on a better organized trip and I appreciate all of the work that the planning involved. The accommodations were extraordinary and all activities were very worthwhile. I don’t think we wasted a minute!

The opportunity to make a contribution to the stove recipients was truly gratifying. I have great admiration for all that you have accomplished and appreciate the chance to have been on the trip. I will definitely try to take future trips.”

“We joined the team as strangers to many and became a family who helped other families! Very selfishly, this trip has forced/allowed me to reevaluate the causes of and meaning of joy. Our culture could use a good dose of stove work on a regular basis.”

“The little things that occurred while on the trip were incredibly special. Shucking corn with one of the ladies, Luz, while discussing her family’s improved health. Multiple families laughing at my broken Spanish. And the greatest gift of all, being thanked for our service and our work that we were doing there. It was just such an incredible experience.”

“I’ve been on three trips with StoveTeam and this fall I’m going on a fourth. I’ve enjoyed the trips immensely. StoveTeam arranges for housing, meals, and local transportation for volunteers. Volunteers meet the factory owner and employees and work side by side with them. Each trip I’ve been on also involved delivering stoves to families in local communities to replace cooking over open fires. The StoveTeam stoves are enormously safer, produce much less smoke, and require much less wood than open fires. The StoveTeam project improves the lives of these families while benefiting the environment and providing local employment. In this day of increasing hostility to immigrants from Central America, StoveTeam also provides a real service by giving people like me an opportunity to learn about our neighbors in person rather than from tweets.”

“Having just returned from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, I want to applaud the StoveTeam in combining a wonderful travel adventure with the opportunity to leave a little something positive in the country you have visited as well. Our volunteer work was very satisfying, helping families in relatively remote villages use the ecocide stove (developed by STI) to not only save 40% more wood, but provide smoke free burning and much less danger for burning children. The nights in the charming city provided outstanding cuisine and entertainment as well. A perfect combo.”

“What an amazing experience of friendships and many hard workers that shared their lives. A wonderful community to work in. ”

“My stove has become like a good friend to me, and it’s a wonderful thing in my life. It saves me wood, and is great for cooking.”

“Now that my mommy has a stove, she doesn’t cry from the smoke anymore. Thank you for the opportunity of the Justa stove.
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“I use an Ecocina stove and I noticed the cleaner air. It’s a better life for my children because they live happily, and the stove helps them not get sick.”

“I had no words, I was so excited and thankful that God was giving me back all the effort I had put in by letting me own my own business. I have to work very hard but I thank God that I am creating my own business. I know that with the support of StoveTeam International our factory will get ahead. I am so grateful because ever since I have been with the factory, StoveTeam has never stopped supporting us.”

“StoveTeam International helped me start a factory in El Salvador. We now employ 22 local workers and our factory has produced over 20,000 stoves that improve the lives of more than 150,000 people.”

“I am always looking for real world connections and authentic materials for [my Spanish] class, so we dove into the website. We had the idea of interviewing Nancy to find out more about how she started the organization. It all happened organically and the kids were really intrigued. While our initial goal was to raise $500, we raised over $1200 between bake sales and private donations. This was a perfect example of 21st century learning, where the students could apply their language skills to making a real difference in the world. ”

“StoveTeam does great work to connect volunteers in the US and beyond with real people in Latin America who cook over open fires, leading to a genuine cultural exchange and educational experience for all involved. Their innovative model of funding factories that make stoves instead of [giving] stoves themselves increases their impact and enables them to do more work in the community and benefit local communities. I’ve been impressed by the amount of impact StoveTeam has made by empowering local entrepreneurs!”

“StoveTeam has been successful because we are able to rely on and work with local people. Our connection to local people creates deep ties into local communities helping us to understand local needs and challenges in a way most US-based nonprofits can’t.”

“Household air pollution from cooking with solid fuels kills 4 million people annually, according to new global burden of disease estimates published in The Lancet.””