May 19, 2011

Zach, my sitemate, and I are working on a project for improved stoves in one of the poorest and most remote communities of Camasca, San Ignacio. We submitted a proposal for funds from the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas to build around 80-90 improved wood-burning stoves. As a lot of Peace Corps work goes, we were scrambling to get the project proposal done, and now there is really nothing to do as we wait for the funds to be approved. We worked with community members, carpenters, and town officials to get together a plan and a budget. We were stressed over which design to use because a new “improved” one has come out but it hasn’t had much success in the few tries in Camasca, and the materials are also very difficult to find locally.  We decided to go with a little older model that uses materials we can find here and that the locals trust more. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how much training and explaining you do about the advantages of a new model, the people don’t trust it and don’t want it. And from my understanding, the new model does not offer any huge new advantages. Both models cut the amount of firewood needed in half, and emit basically zero smoke in the house. The old models are just a metal “plancha” (slab) on top of a fire, and the women and children breathe in all the harmful smoke. This smoke causes a lot of respiratory diseases, and I’ve noticed just from my short amount of time living in house with one of these stoves in San Juan, that I had a lot of headaches and allergy symptoms. I can’t imagine breathing it for YEARS. As I mentioned to them during a training Zach and I did with the community, you can easily see how it blackens the walls in the houses. Now imagine how your lungs look! Also, deforestation is a big problem in Honduras, so the new stoves use half the amount of firewood, and also the people save a lot of time and money looking for wood, buying it, and carrying it (on their heads, of course) to their homes.

Zach and I did two educational talks in the community about the benefits of the stoves, focusing on deforestation and also the health benefits. Unlike San Juan where I did the floors project, this community is basically only accessible by walking. An hour and a half of walking each way. It’s worse than it sounds because it is basically downhill going there and straight uphill coming back, which we usually have to do in the middle of the afternoon when it’s SO hot.  As random community members like to point out as I am struggling on the walk there, I get very sweaty and red and hot doing the walk.  (Zach and I were laughing—can you imagine being in the USA and walking somewhere and some random person walking by and saying, “Good morning. Wow you are SO RED AND SWEATY!” Oh Honduras) San Juan was more accessible because cars passed by and occasionally buses too, and two of the teachers at the school had cars. The teachers in San Ignacio walk everyday and I still haven’t seen a car drive by. Plus with rainy season coming, the road washes out so it will definitely be inaccessible by cars and more difficult to walk. With all that said, I do feel good that we are helping a community that really needs the help and is often overlooked. Zach and I are working together so its nice to have someone else to lean on and to divide the work.

We are hoping to have the funds by early June. I am hopeful that we can start construction in July and finish by my Peace Corps finish date of September. If not, I will let Zach finish the project. We are also going to build stoves in the new restaurant owned by a small women’s business, and also in the community school.

Other news, my parents are coming in a couple of days! I think that it is similar to my trips home to the USA in that when it finally hits me that I’ll see my family, I get really excited! I am going to San Pedro Sula a day early so I can be there when they land the next morning. We are going to spend a few days in my site and then a few days at Copan Ruins. I am hoping everything goes smoothly (i.e. no strikes, power or water outtages, etc) and that they enjoy Honduras  and get an idea of what my work is like here.