In Guatemala, we began the year by evaluating all stoves placed during 2020 and 2021. This important work ensures quality control and that stoves are being adopted by families. We also moved into our own factory space, ensuring the efficient production and distribution of materials, and giving us a learning and teaching space from which to launch the first of three Maestros Comaleros, Stovebuilder Training Academies. Overall, we placed 594 new Justa stoves in Guatemala in 2022 and our team performed in-depth site visits and adoption surveys with over 780 families.

After a multi-year process, we are so excited to announce that we received NGO status in Guatemala! 

This makes StoveTeam an international non-profit that can now hire staff, pay health benefits, and create new partnerships. It also gives us a stable base from which to operate all of our projects in Central America and we look forward to supporting communities in new ways. Due to all these developments, we have gained new partners. Thanks to multiple Rotary clubs across the world and SumUp, our target goal in 2023 is to place 1,500 stoves in Guatemala alone.

In El Salvador, our long-time factory partner, Gustavo Peña, joined by his youngest son, Emerson, launched a pilot project to build Justa stoves in communities around Sonsonate. With guidance from Mike, Alex, and Gustavo, Emerson is now taking the lead and evolving their method of qualifying families and placing stoves for optimal adoption and greatest need. Together the team in El Salvador placed 152 Justa stoves and 10 Ecocina stoves in 2022.

Engineers in Technical and Humanitarian Opportunities of Service (ETHOS), a nonprofit that holds an annual conference to support cookstoves and the clean cooking community, continues to support StoveTeam’s partners. At the end of the year, the ETHOS Board of Directors awarded Gustavo a full scholarship to attend the January 2023 ETHOS conference in Kirkland, WA, USA.

In Nicaragua, Elida Olivas and her husband, Nelson Parrales, continue to have success selling the portable Ecocina cookstove with a small subsidy by StoveTeam. In 2022, through the Avanza factory, StoveTeam also launched a pilot of the Justa project led by Nelson. Overall, Elida and Nelson placed 528 Ecocina stoves and 400 Justa stoves in communities around Estelí. 

We are also excited to have new partners supporting our work in Nicaragua including ClimateHound, a company with the mission to help food and beverage businesses calculate their carbon footprints, implement reduction strategies, and achieve carbon-neutral certification. ClimateHound is sponsoring Ecocina cookstoves in Nicaragua with an ongoing project to claim the carbon offsets of these stoves. Our goal is to place 1,000 Ecocinas in 2023 through this new partnership.

“My motivation for getting involved was simply because I saw a basic need and I knew that there was a way to make life better for this community. Connecting the Rotary Club of Retalhuleu with StoveTeam, and being able to assist both groups from 1,500 miles away has been as much of a blessing to me as the Justa stoves are to the families receiving them.”-Steffanie Sorrels

This stove project also brought us Francisco Quevedo, President of Club Rotario Retalhuleu, and club member, Jose Carlos. Francisco and Jose have been vital resources to StoveTeam International and the Retalhuleu stove project. Francisco helped to facilitate this project, providing technical support and resources. Francisco continues to go above and beyond, assisting with the placement of stoves throughout Retalhuleu, the transportation of materials and labor, the donation of materials, housing for stove builders, and storage space. Jose is a dedicated supporter of StoveTeam and a leading member of his community. With Jose’s guidance and support, we built and placed 100 stoves in the town of Caballo Blanco.

StoveTeam’s Carbon Project: As we expand our stove work and enter into carbon projects, the effort to organize effective monitoring and evaluation efforts and meet reporting requirements has greatly increased. For over 25 years, Mike Hatfield has worked in stove design, production, and dissemination and has been StoveTeam’s resident “stove expert” for 6 years. At the end of 2022, Mike was promoted to Director of Monitoring and Evaluation to focus on quality control, monitoring, evaluation, and the development of future carbon projects.

HEIDI GROOT

Director

Heidi Groot is the General Manager Human Resources, Midstream for Chevron Corporation, based in San Ramon, California. She is responsible for oversight of the HR function activities for Supply and Trade, Shipping and Power and Pipeline businesses and is a member of the HR Management Team and Executive Women’s Group. Since joining Chevron in 2002, Heidi has held leadership positions of increasing responsibility in California, Florida, Nigeria, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Argentina. She is fluent in Spanish.

RICH GOLDSTEIN

Director

Rich Goldstein brings to StoveTeam a diverse background spanning manufacturing (both domestic and international), jewelry design, software development, healthcare, and integrative health. He has worked with large enterprises, as well as smaller businesses.  Primarily his work has been in the private sector, with some experience in both non-profit and public sector organizations.  He has spent time in Asia, Europe, and Central America, where he was introduced to StoveTeam in 2019.

In Guatemala: Alex Eaton received a promotion to recognize his great work and the responsibility he has assumed in the field, and now holds the title of Regional Director, Central America. As programs develop in El Salvador and Nicaragua, Alex spends more time developing and professionalizing all our programs abroad. Waleska Santos has stepped up as Guatemala Operations Director. Waleska is instrumental in the Maestros Comaleros program and manages all logistics for stove building and distribution in Guatemala.

Learn more about StoveTeam’s dedicated Staff & Board.

WHAT DOES BEING A MEMBER OF THE FIRE MEAN?

• A three-year commitment to a yearly donation of at least $500

• Access benefits and stay engaged

  • Exclusive stories, photos, and videos from the field

  • Insider updates on Stove Team's work

  • Committed support helps StoveTeam plan and act efficiently

• Linda Alband

• Kendall Allen

• Richard & Kathy Amos

• Susie Andrist

• Patricia Baker

• Emy Bartula

• Hugh Beattie

• Marty Black

• Elena Rae Bohannan

• Monica Careaga Houck

• Linda & Doug Carnine

• Gemma Castelli

• Francine Chinitz

• Ginger Chinn

• Martha Collins

• Ashley Crawford

• Sierra & Dustin Dawson

• Jeane Delaney & Jeff Oxley

• Barbara Dumesnil

• Jane Falls

• Ann Flack

• Susan Gallagher

• Heidi Groot

• John Guffey

• Michael Haase

• Elizabeth Halper

• Sandi K Henley

• Christine & Charles Heritage

• Fran Baselga Herrero

• John Howard

• Nancy Hughes

• Linda Jones

• Jack & Rachel Jordan

• Eddie Karriker

• Shivaun Korfanta

• Jay & Tina Lamb

• Anita & Ron Larson

• Francois Lemay & Kathryn Benight Lemay

• Wendy & John Lestina

• Elanna Lisk

• Walt & Nancy Meyer

• Charissa Nelson

• Leslie Parker

• Debra Polak

• Victoria Quinn Stephens

• Caroline Passerotti & Timothy Brewer

• Allen & Georgann Reel

• Gerry Reicher

• John Renehan

• Eric Resener & Julie Marchini

• Colin Rhodes

• Ron Riggins

• Steffanie Rivas Sorrels

• Charles Stookey

• Kimberly Smith-Cupani

• Babs & Jim Sullivan

• Douglas Taylor

• Shirley Turnbow & Hilton Smith

• Alex & Fiona Tait

• Lisa M Uerkvitz

• Laura Van Horn

• Carol Walsh

• Yinette Wisdom

• Carol Lee Woodstock

• Candice Wynne

Special Thank to our Rotary Champions…..

• The Rotary Foundation & Rotary of Moses Lake

  • Over $30,000

• Janet Tenreiro and Rotary District 7120

  • Over $25,000

• Steffanie Sorrels and District 6019

  • Over $10,000

• San Diego Downtown Breakfast Rotary

  • Over $5,000

TOTAL RAISED THROUGH ROTARY in 2022: $111,033.44

In 2022, District Governor, Janet Tenreiro, of Rotary District 7120 in New York led a massive effort to bring over 30 Rotary Clubs together to produce a donation of over $25,000 in support of StoveTeam’s efforts.

“As District Governor, I was able to share a video of StoveTeam’s project with all the club presidents in our district — that is 65 clubs. At that time, we had just formed an Environmental Action Committee, and we were all aghast to learn how much carbon is put into the atmosphere by open cooking fires….Wow! what a great project! I asked all the club presidents to watch the video and share it with their clubs and our Environmental Action Committee voted to support StoveTeam and raise funds throughout the district. Overall, we ended up raising over $26,000 from 35 clubs. Our members were impressed that stoves are manufactured on site by local people with local materials, and that recipients are educated and encouraged in their use… so the stoves don’t just get dropped off, they get used. You do a great job!”

-Janet Tenreiro, District 7120

1,684 stoves = 5,052 tons of carbon* = 50% less wood

Between all of our partner projects, we are proud to have produced 1,684 cookstoves during 2022!

THIS BRINGS OUR ALL-TIME TOTAL TO 81,375 STOVES AS OF THE END OF 2022, IMPACTING THE LIVES OF over 610,312 PEOPLE!

*StoveTeam’s cookstoves have been field tested to reduce an estimated 3-6 tons of carbon per stove, per year.

80.77% of expenses went toward our programs during 2022

TOTAL INCOME: $1,068,187.27

TOTAL EXPENSES: $758,636.57

Building Community & Growing Stove adoption for the health of people & our planet

In 2023, Master Stovebuilder, Anabela Hernandez will lead StoveTeam’s newly created Stove Adoption Program in Guatemala. In this program, Anabela will visit the homes of stove recipients to answer questions, gift a StoveTeam cooking pot, and cook a meal with stove recipients to encourage continued use of their new stove. These cooking demonstrations are part of a new initiative to teach local Guatemalans about the benefits of clean, fuel-efficient stoves. Why? Because open fire cookstoves are responsible for over 4 million premature deaths per year, mostly women and children. They kill more people each year than HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. They are also one of the most dangerous environmental polluters leading to global climate change due to the amount of black carbon and CO2 that they emit.

The Release of Smoke-The Flavor of Guatemala

We Can’t Do It Without You!

From signing up for our email newsletter to becoming a recurring donor “Ember”, we need your support to sustain these projects! Even reading and sharing our inspiring stories can make a big difference in the world.