Give efficient stoves to 100 Guatemalan families

Dear Donors,

Thank you for your ongoing support of GuateBuena’s Efficient Stoves Project. We are happy to share an update on how this initiative has progressed over the past several months and the exciting next steps we have planned.

This year brought some delays due to a temporary pause in fund transfers and a recovery period for our lead stove builder. Our stove builder is the expert technician and craftsman who designs and constructs the highefficiency stoves for families across the communities we serve. After a challenging health period, he is now on the mend, allowing the project to move forward.

In March, we conducted a survey with 85 families who received stoves in earlier phases of the project. Their feedback was overwhelmingly positive: families reported significant benefits for their health and household finances. They shared how using the stoves reduced their firewood consumption, saved money, and created a cleaner, safer cooking environment. The families also expressed a stronger commitment to environmental conservation and reducing deforestation in their communities.

With the fund transfer issues resolved in late May, our builder began making improvements to the stove design. These upgrades now include a chimney option, making the stoves adaptable for enclosed spaces. This June, our team started identifying new candidate families for the 2025 cycle.

Although our original target was to build 200 stoves, funding constraints have required an adjustment, and we are now focusing on reaching approximately 140 families this year. This is a roughly 30% reduction from the original goal. Despite this shift, GuateBuena's commitment to providing lifechanging stoves and spreading environmental education through handson ecological workshops remains as strong as ever.

Thank you for making this vital work possible. If you’d like to deepen your support or help us reach more families, we’d be deeply grateful.

Links:

• https://gracecares.org/project/guatebuena-association/
• https://gracecares.org/

Thanks to your generous support, 85 families—totaling 180 individuals—from five communities in Guatemala have received ecological stoves. These stoves help minimize the harmful effects of open fires by reducing eye and respiratory diseases, lowering costs associated with firewood, and decreasing deforestation caused by the demand for firewood and its by-products. In addition to receiving stoves, the families also participated in workshops designed to address the negative impacts of traditional cooking methods on indigenous households. The workshops aim to enhance not only the well-being of these families but also the long-term sustainability of the environment.

Looking ahead to 2025, we hope to reach even more families, continue raising awareness, and donate additional stoves to promote the sustainable well-being of Guatemalans. Thank you for your continued support—we are truly grateful!