Family of Giving
Final Report Date: August, 2025
Project Title: Improved Stoves for the Communities of San Antonio El Ron, La Palma, and El Aliso
Project Description
Family kitchens in rural areas are mostly small, windowless spaces with low walls and ceilings, and no lighting that even makes it difficult to see what’s cooking in the pot. “It’s like cooking in the dark.” Large amounts of black dust (soot) are released from the ceilings and walls, contaminating food and promoting respiratory illnesses in children and women who are more frequently in this space.
Amid many housing problems and the lack of basic services, women organized in their grassroots CECANOR associations have taken the initiative to gradually improve certain conditions, such as drinking water, latrines, cleaning facilities, and in some cases, kitchens, achieving healthy results that have sparked the interest of neighboring families.
In this sense, women involved in the production and marketing of women’s coffee are motivated to prepare their meals using improved or healthy stoves. These improved stoves would prevent respiratory illnesses in the family, especially women and children, as well as conserve small forests in the upper reaches of the watershed. They would also value and strengthen solidarity and cooperation between men and women, strengthening community organization and improvement.
Benefits and Beneficiaries:
– 60 iron sheets.
– 60 chimney pipes
– 1 training meeting on the benefits of improved stoves for the health of women and families.
The 30 recipients now have a deeper understanding that many health problems can be avoided by improving their homes, especially the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom environment. The new raised cooking surfaces make easier for women to prepare food and they reduce the destruction of small forests due to the reduced use of firewood as fuel.
They were very grateful for the support they received from Kerry Da Vinci and the Café Femenino Foundation.