Protect Guatemalan Forests with Clean Cookstoves

Greetings to our supportive GlobalGiving community,

At the vibrant Santiago Atitlán local market, our dynamic duo, Candelaria and Isabel, recently showcased the marvel of our TRL clean cook stoves. These are not just stoves; they symbolize a transformative movement that aims to benefit families, our community, and the picturesque Lake Atitlán. By cooking directly on these stoves in the bustling market, Candelaria and Isabel enabled the local community to see firsthand the efficiency and the many benefits of these cooking wonders. Their demonstration was not just about cooking; it was an invitation to join us on this exciting, community journey. 

However, our recent interactions with the community revealed a painful fact. Despite at least 50 locals expressing keen interest in our stoves and some wanting to become beneficiaries, the harsh effects of inflation and another very  dry growing season climate have left them with limited resources. These are the economic and environmental challenges that underline the importance of our movement.

Yet, our mission at TRL is more than merely to introduce families to a different cooking method. Our dedicated TRL Team ensures comprehensive support, but not just in how to use the stove. The Team also makes sure families understand they have joined a movement to help their community, improve their family’s health, and improve their economic well-being. Through a carefully designed educational program, we handhold families for the first year following stove installation, ensuring they transition with confidence and a feeling of empowerment.

Our beneficiaries know this is more than a stove. It's a rallying cry to embrace a healthier, sustainable way of living and to be a beacon of change. With every TRL stove, families step into a movement that prioritizes their well-being, the community's progress, and the conservation of Lake Atitlán.

As TRL continues to expand our outreach and foster more meaningful connections, we are hopeful that this spirited community will overcome its current economic and environmental challenges and envision a brighter, sustainable future. Your support, belief, and engagement are what drive this movement forward.

Thank you to everyone who's already a part of this journey and to those contemplating joining. Your involvement is invaluable. For more information, please visit our website.

Warmly,

María Teresa

Multigenerational Stove Families Make the Best Success Stories

Maria and Gaspar are an elderly, very traditional Tz'utujil couple in their seventies. Ten years ago, they learned of the ONIL stove, back when our stove team members were installing ONIL stoves under the auspices of the Cojolya Association of Maya Women Weavers—at that time, a social project of the Cojolya Association. Being hard working and frugal people, Maria and Gaspar jumped at the opportunity to reduce the amount of firewood Gaspar brought home in his cayuco from his land on the other side of the lake. 

Maria and Gaspar cared lovingly for their stove and replaced the combustion chamber about five years ago. When their eldest daughter, Magdalena, was married, she got herself an ONIL stove, having learned first-hand from her parents of the many benefits—benefits she wanted to share with her new husband. Magdelena soon had a son of her own, and he decided he wanted an ONIL stove when he grew up.

Now a widow, Magdalena has moved back with her parents to assist them in their old age. She left her ONIL stove with her son and his wife. Magdalena then asked Tu’ik Ruch’ Lew to install an ONIL of her own in her mother’s kitchen. On the day of this photo, TRL replaced the combustion chamber again for the elderly couple and checked the condition of Magdalena’s new ONIL. 

TRL has learned that if one family member successfully adapts to the new technology—the small firebox, the reduced need for wood, the economic benefits—other family members become successful stove users too because they have already learned best practices at their mother’s side. TRL believes that a multi-generational ONIL stove family makes the best success story. As in the case of Maria and Gaspar, when the older generation passes best stove practices down to the next generation, TRL can feel pretty assured that the next generation will be using the ONIL successfully too.   

It’s important to note that for each stove installed, TRL spends on average 20 hours of follow-up time on education and maintenance over the guaranteed 10-year life of a stove—a vital component of TRL’s program success. And that vital follow-up component is what gave TRL a 100% successful adoption rate for all stoves installed in 2022.

Thanks to your support, TRL’s stove project helps families like this acquire an ONIL stove—the total cost of which would be impossible for nearly all of our families. Your generous donations subsidize the cost for families and empowers them to join TRL’s Climate Action Movement.