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 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 is an excellent Nonprofit. It is small and completely focused on its mission. StoveTeam does not give efficient, safe stoves to people in third world countries. Instead, it provides the means for local manufacturers (in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras) to make and sell simple, safe and efficient stoves at low cost to families in their areas. StoveTeam is good for local economies while at the same time reducing lung ailments and other issues caused by open fire cooking.
Imagine sitting in a tiny one room home while the hostess cooks on an open fire; the smoke often fills the rooms and permanently coats the walls and ceilings. Around 3 billion people in the world still cook on open fires or simple open stoves that cause lung disease, stroke, heart disease. In children under 5, almost half the deaths by pneumonia are due to inhaled soot from household air pollution.
You can meet wonderful people, see their lives and homes and help clear their air. Make your travel more important, informative, interesting and fun on a volunteer trip with StoveTeam.
Gerry
I had the pleasure of working with StoveTeam a part of a university research project in Guatemala . As a student they were incredibly knowledgeable and comfortable navigating the area as they guided us to the factory, and around Antigua. Their relationships with factory co-owners, factory workers and the local women was humbling and inspiring. Their ability to balance moral and social obligations as humanitarian workers is truly wonderful.
I have had the honor of offering two faculty-led study abroad courses called "Household Energy in Guatemala" with StoveTeam International through Oregon State University. StoveTeam has been an amazing partner to work with, and sharing their work with students has been so inspirational. Their devotion to providing improved stoves and the efficiency and grace with which they operate is evident. Fantastic organization that makes significant impacts both in rural communities and through education.
I had the pleasure of volunteering with this nonprofit over the summer as well as joining their 10th Anniversary Celebration! I love their mission, especially because they encourage entrepreneurship in Latin America. While I love charity, I strongly believe in helping people find their potentials and utilizing self-sufficiency. Awesome work Stoveteam!
StoveTeam International is an incredible nonprofit utilizing culturally-appropriate solutions to empower communities and solve local problems. Through the innovation of the Ecocina, StoveTeam has empowered women, improved cooking safety and efficiency, and bettered the lives of tens of thousands of people. They're truly an example of an exemplary local nonprofit that has had a lasting impact on our global community.
StoveTeam International does inspiring and innovative work in Latin America that fights climate change, public health issues, and improves local economies. Through my internship with StoveTeam, I have learned so much about the issues that those in the developing world face everyday due to dangerous open-cooking fires. Every member of StoveTeam's staff is hard-working, kind, and determined to make a difference. My life will forever be impacted by the knowledge I've gained through them.
The work that this organization does is a win/win/win/win/win/win/win/win.
Win 1: The factories they help to establish in developing countries provide needed employment opportunities and support local economies when supplies are purchased. Win 2: The stoves produced by those factories reduce the amount of firewood needed, thereby reducing the amount of time families need to spend either looking for firewood or earning money to buy firewood (which is Win 3). Win 4: The reduction in wood use reduces deforestation, which helps reduce mudslides in the rainy season (which is Win 5). Win 6: The stoves also greatly reduce the amount of emissions and particulate matter, thereby reducing numerous illnesses, especially respiratory (which is Win 7). Win 8: The exterior of the stove is warm (not hot) to the touch, so its use greatly reduces the likelihood of burns, compared to cooking over an pen fire.
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.
What an amazing volunteer experience Stove Team offers! This group saves lives by establishing factories that build eco-friendly stoves that reduce the need and danger of open-fire burning in homes. We worked a few days in a factory outside of Antigua, Guatemala, learning to build and assemble the stoves, and then delivered stoves at the end of our week to 5 families. How rare to make such a significant impact in just a week!
I was able to work with Stove Team in Guatemala in 2015. It was a pleasure and a privilege to meet Nancy Hughes, the founder and also Marco Tulio, the owner of the factory near Antigua. They are doing impressive work for the people of Guatemala, creating jobs, building stoves for needy families, and working with the community. The trip I was on included half-day Spanish school every day and a visit to a village on Day of the Dead. We assisted at the factory in the afternoons and were able to go along when the stoves were installed in people's homes. It was a memorable trip and Stove team is a admirable non-profit.
I helped start StoveTeam International, and we have worked hard to provide safe, affordable, portable fuel-efficient stoves to more than 56,000 individuals in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua. We take teams of individuals on a regular basis so they are exposed to the need in the rural communities. Stoves can be donated for only $50.00 and change the lives of families. Please visit our website at www.stoveteam.org to see the multiple videos.
This summer I spent a week with a wonderful group of people - volunteers, employees, entrepreneurs, lovely, happy, proud and hospitable Guatemalan people, and the one in charge, the one with the vision - the one who is a true inspiration, Nancy Hughes. Together we worked to help Marco Tulio, another big visionary, build ECOCOMAL stoves to fill orders of an ever-increasing demand. We also worked at building a bamboo stick constructed house that will add to Marco Tulio's repertoire of grand ideas. This is truly a phenomenal endeavor. This nonprofit gets my vote!!!
Nancy
StoveTeam International not only provides technological solutions with health and ecological benefits, they build local level employment via their stove factories. With a dedicated and competent staff, they have been a leader in the clean cooking revolution.
We worked in the stove factory helping with 2 main tasks. The factory was very busy trying to fill an order for 600 stoves, so our help, although we did have a learning curve initially, was beneficial. The thought that my hands filled stoves with pumice for insulation and my trowel smoothed out the concrete top of the stove and that someone, somewhere in Guatemala would be using this exact stove soon, was heartwarming. We also helped with factory expansion by helping to construct a cabana where the factory owner dreams that one day visitors will stay while experiencing stove making. We also made a visit to a home where they cooked on the ground, learning about the challenges of trying to cook tortillas in the rain. We provided this family with a fuel efficient stove in exchange for their effort to help us understand the challenges of the open fire.
The overall experience was well rounded and intimate. I definitely will want to return for a similar experience.
Review from Guidestar
I have just returned from a Stove Team trip to Oaxaca and Nochixtlian Mexico, what a wonderful experience.We were building a Stove Factory in a small town that will serve the surrounding villages.
I learned how to stucco the way it has been done in Mexico for hundreds of years ( and it was a great upper body workout!). We worked hard but had lots of time for interesting experiences, visiting villages to introduce our stoves, visiting ruins,churches, even a little shopping.Great food and great company on this very well planned trip. This was my 4th Rotary related international trip and it was the best, can't wait to go on another!
I was one of the student coordinator through the University of Oregon Alternative Spring Break program that traveled to Honduras with StoveTeam. It was one of the most memorable experiences of my college career. I think I can speak with the entire group when I say that. Not only were our hosts, Annibal and Rosanna, the most hospitable, friendly, warm people I've ever had the chance to meet, but the cause is such an important one and it truly felt like we were making a difference in other peoples lives. Empty your pockets, go with them to Honduras. Once you meet these people you will never turn back!
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.
StoveTeam International is one of the most amazing organizations I have ever worked with! They have a great cause that helps improve health, safety, and sustainability. All of the people I worked with on their team are inspiring and hard working. StoveTeam has touched many lives.
StoveTeam brings people improved health and safety. It is highly admirable how they utilize modern wood stove industry innovations to help people dependant on fire as a basic life need. They were open to offer of volunteer help and quickly found a way for high school students to participate and be helpful. They made arrangements convenient for participants and extended every kind of assistance available to include the group's offer to help.
Stove Team has provided volunteers with exceptional opportunities to facilitate the delivery of energy efficient stoves to families (who were cooking on open fires) in Mexico and Central America. The opportunity to help build a locally owned factory in-country is an incredibly powerful experience. The model that Stove Team International has created is a sustainable design that will impact the environment and individual lives long into the future. I am a proud volunteer and hope to continue volunteering when the opportunity arises again.