Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Reducing Carbon Emissions
One Stove at a Time

ProPeru – Urubamba, Peru
For only $15 dollars, ProWorld Service Corps has been installing high efficiency wood-burning stoves in a total of forty communities located in and around the Sacred Valley. This stove, “cocina” in Spanish, is a revolutionary technology, improving the current stove that the Peruvians have been using for years, utilizing very minimal materials - bricks and homemade mud.

The benefits of the stove are astounding, reducing one ton of carbon emissions in one year and saving the lives of the families who would otherwise cook over open fires in their kitchens. With known health affects, the stoves also provide a healthier alternative to the prior stove used.

The reason for adapting the stoves capabilities instead of creating a brand new stove? A stove must be created that the communities will accept and that will fit right in to the lifestyle in which that family is accustomed. With this method, time and modifications can only tell when the proper model finally surfaces. ProWorld Service Corps is proud to have brought the first design model to Peru in 2002, with the final and determined model being installed just two years later.

The benefits are astounding:
  • 20%-60% reduction of firewood and other fuel consumption
  • Reduction in indoor smoke inhalation
  • 12% increase in lung capacity after three months
  • Higher fuel efficiency provides faster cooking times
  • Cost-effective & efficient method of cooking helps families to work against the cycle of poverty (savings of approximately 220 nuevos soles per year)



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