Project Launch:

Clavellina, Dominican Republic is a rural agricultural community near the DR's northwestern border with Haiti. There are approximately 135 households in Clavellina and about 850 residents, most of whom rely on a traditional method of cooking, using a fogón, whereby they place firewood on the ground between three stones in the household. Cooking on a fogón is dangerous to the respiratory health of families, as it releases smoke in the home and leaves an ash residue on the walls inside the house. It also requires a significant amount of firewood, which leads to local deforestation.

This project will result in the installation of 40 improved cookstoves in households in Clavellina and the training of the 40 mothers in the community in how to properly use and maintain their new cookstoves. The mothers will also be learning about the impact of using a fogón on their and their family's health, and on the local environment. A network of five local masons, who will receive technical training as part of the project, will ensure that the knowledge to build and maintain the cookstoves remains firmly rooted in the local community.

 

Project Update

Participating families attended three educational workshops, which focused on the importance and maintenance of improved cookstoves, the risks of inhaled smoke, and the dangers of deforestation. Five local masons were trained on how to build stoves, and a total of 50 stoves were built in the community, 10 more than originally planned.

 

Testimonials

"Many people in Clavellina who have stoves say they are very happy with the stoves and how they cook quickly, save money, and get smoke out of the kitchen. The first stove we built was at my house and I use it all the time. My rice cooks in the half the time and I can finish my cleaning earlier and have time for other things in life." - Luisa, Project Leader

 

"The stove cooks fast and doesn't use as much wood as when I was using my cookfire and now there isn't a lot of smoke in the house. Gas is so expensive now so it saves me a lot of money. My kids can help cook more too." - Lourdes, Project Participant