Proyectos de Planchas! (improved stove projects)

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Hola..For those who are not aware of what my program in Peace Corps consists of, here is a little recap--- I have been currently serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer living in an indigenous village in the highlands of Guatemala since April 2010. My project sector is in rural preventative health where together with local health workers we are training indigenous health promoters, teaching classes in the schools, as well as with community and women’s groups. We cover various topics of health education such as nutrition, hygiene and the importance of family planning and vaccinations. For the most needy families we are constructing improved wood burning stoves in order to prevent the dangers of indoor air pollution.



Developing countries are at an increased risk of acute lower respiratory infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and associated child mortality. These are consequences of continuous exposure to air pollutants primarily produced by indoor combustion from the burning of solid fuels on open fires and on traditional stoves without chimneys.









Current cooking conditions; black walls due to smoke



Over 50% of the world’s population relies on wood, dung, crop waste, plastics and/or coal to meet basic energy needs; traditional cook stoves that emit hazardous wood smoke are the main contributors of indoor air pollution (IAP). It is the cooking and heating done on these traditional stoves and the burning of solid fuels on open fires which leads to built up indoor smoke comprised of a range of air pollutants.



Women and children spend the majority of their time in a domestic setting, which are typically poorly ventilated dwellings allowing for a continuous build up of indoor smoke which is able to undeniably exceed acceptable levels for toxic air contaminants. IAP is responsible for the death of 1.6 million people each year worldwide, which translates into one death every 20 seconds! In addition, IAP is the leading causes of morbidity and death for children under five years of age in Latin America.



In Guatemala, a group of researchers tested the the health effects of reducing IAP for Mayan women (89 as the intervention group; 80 for the control group) by replacing traditional stoves with “planchas,” which are new, environmental-safe stoves. Their findings showed a significant reduction in carbon monoxideexposure by 61.6%, as well as decreased symptoms of respiratory discomfort, headaches and eye irritation. Nearly 53% of the intervention women reported a significant improvement in health, such as less respiratory distress and improvement in their children’s health, too.










Plancha (stove) to remove smoke




With our previously trained health promoters, we sought out 30 of the most needy families and are currently giving preventative health talks and doing activities every month in small groups with these families. We are hoping to give stoves to all 40 of the families since all are attending regularly and are in great need for an improved wood-burning stove. You can help a family in this Guatemalan village by simply donating to help prevent illness and death of the children and infants where I am living and helping. Even just one dollar goes a long way with the exchange rate being 7.5 Quetzales (the Guatemalan currency) and will go directly towards the building of these stoves. One stove for a family helps anywhere from 4-14 children and approximately costs $100. However, I encourage to give what you want.



If you feel inclined to help out (and receive a tax deduction) please write out your checks to Friends of Guatemala “PCV Alyssa Grant” and then please send it to the following address.



Friends of Guatemala

“PCV Alyssa Grant”

P.O. Box 33018

Washington, D.C. 20033



Thank you for your consideration in helping fund our projects. We are still short of half the families, and if you know anyone interested in donating, please forward this to them! No matter what we do in life, a little may go a long way.. even just a smile :)



Peace and Blessings,

Alyssa Grant

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