Ecostove Project Reduces Indoor Air Pollution in Jayacayan, Honduras..

Members of the Rotary Club of Madison, Alabama, USA, help residents of Jayacayan, Honduras, build ecostoves during a recent service project. The stoves burn less wood and vent smoke outside and reduce their exposure to indoor air pollution.

Ecostove project reduces indoor air pollution By Diana Schoberg Rotary International News -- 28 August 2008 Residents of a rural community in Honduras have Rotarians to thank for more efficient stoves that burn less wood and reduce their exposure to indoor air pollution.

The Rotary Club of Madison, Alabama, USA, helped install ecostoves in all 47 homes in Jayacayan, Honduras, earlier this year as part of an ongoing service project. The club got the idea after taking part in a larger service project with other Rotarians in Honduras last year.

The ecostoves vent smoke outside the home, unlike the mud stoves the villagers were using before. Use of those stoves increased the villagers' exposure to indoor air pollution, up to 20 times the acceptable limits, according to the World Health Organization.

The new stoves also use 80 percent less firewood, because the heat is concentrated in a specially designed firebox.

Steve Baum, a Rotarian who helped organize the project, said one woman told him she only needs scraps of wood and woodchips to cook.

They researched several stove designs before settling on this one, in part because all the materials could be purchased in Honduras, helping the local economy. A contact in Honduras worked with people in the community to sell them on the idea for this stove design before the Rotarians started a pilot program. The Rotary Club of Choluteca also helped coordinate between Rotarians and community members.

For more details click here