Pro-Edge Custom Woodwork is passionate about building up our community, local and international.
We love working in our community and getting to know the people we interact with everyday.
We are thankful for the ability to work and provide for our families and we want to support those who are unable to do so. Here is one of the projects Pro-Edge Custom Woodwork works hard to support!
STOVES FOR LIFE
Families all over Guatemala are experiencing the fatal consequences of depending on open pit fires to cook by inside their homes.
Smoke inhalation is the number one cause of child death in Guatemala and many children experience excruciating burns because of falling into these fires while learning to walk or playing around them.
Wood is a limited resource here and is very hard to consistently have on hand. A fuel efficient, enclosed flame stove is literally a life saver to families in this region! We team up with Fe Viva World Missions to make a difference in this way.
Fe Viva World Missions
Stoves for Life Project - Guatemala
WHY
In rural communities in Guatemala the common method of cooking meals is using an open fire pit on a dirt floor of a one room home known as a "three stone fire". This method of cooking had been used by the Mayan women for centuries so it is deeply embedded in their culture. The very concerning issues with this method are:
ONE Having no ventilation, families inhale noxious fumes causing acute respiratory infections
TWO High instances of facial and hand burns are common as children who are learning to walk or just running past, fall into these open fires.
THREE inefficient burning of wool for "three stone fires" requires women and children to gather huge amounts of wood for daily cooking, which is very time consuming and contributes to Guatemala's deforestation, which is estimated to be at a level of 2% per year.
WHAT
Fe Viva has set out to instal fuel efficient stoves replacing traditional "three stone fires" currently in use in most homes in Guatemala's rural areas. The fuel efficient stoves have multiple benefits including:
ONE Reduced fuel consumption which reduces CO2 emissions as well as reduces time required for collecting fuel.
TWO Are well ventilated which improves overall health from no longer inhaling the smoke.
THREE Children are less likely to be burned as the stoves are elevated and the fire is isolated and controlled.
FOUR Saving of lives by reducing inhalation of harmful emissions from the firewood. Smoke inhalation by firewood is the leading cause of death amongst children in Guatemala.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The initial goal of the program is to implement 1000 stoves
This is in the general vicinity of Fe Viva, which is north of Chiquimulilla in the Santa Rosa department of Guatemala. The final goal is to implement a stove in every home in the region that still uses wood for cooking, The area is a rural community with a population of 12,700 (50,000 including surrounding communities) located about 20km for the Pacific coast. Subsistence is a way of life with 70% of the Guatemalans earning less than $2.00/day.
The target candidates are families that currently have an open fire stove and show willingness to commit to use the new stove one it is installed.
Get Involved
We like to get involved in more ways than giving financially to this great project. We get on a plane and go and meet our friends down in Guatemala to build the projects ourselves! Check out our stories below!
We plan group trips, so if you are wanting to get involved right on the front lines of this project, come along with us and help us build up a community in a different corner of the world.
OUR STORIES
