Dear StoveTeam Supporters and Friends,

As we approach the close of another remarkable year, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for your steadfast support of StoveTeam International. Your generosity fuels our mission to provide low-smoke, fuel-efficient cookstoves to families in Central America. We are delighted to highlight some of the key achievements in this 2023 Annual Report that were made possible with your support.

In 2023, StoveTeam International reaffirmed its commitment to learning and relentlessly seeking improvements. We invested in capacity to measure and evaluate our impact and we continue to learn and grow from challenges. Central to this commitment was the establishment of the Adoption Task Force—a dynamic collective of staff and volunteers tasked with understanding adoption percentages in the communities we serve and proposing interventions to enhance the acceptance of new cooking technologies. This dedicated group convened throughout the summer and fall and is poised to drive further improvements in 2024. Through ongoing education initiatives, we aim to boost adoption rates and foster widespread acceptance of our clean cookstoves.

Collaborating closely with our partners, we intensified efforts to enhance quality control and establish elevated standards for all stove installations. Rigorous monitoring and evaluation mechanisms ensure that our interventions meet the highest benchmarks of efficacy, safety, and longevity.

Moreover, our endeavors to accurately measure, claim, and market carbon credits have resulted in significant improvements in data collection, measurement, and reporting. This enhanced capability not only strengthens our commitment to accurate evaluation but also positions us as trusted partners in the fight against climate change, enabling us to attract new supporters and resources to advance our mission.

These milestones stand as a testament to our unwavering commitment to innovation, excellence, and continuous improvement. With your continued support, we are confident that we can achieve even greater impact in the years to come, creating a brighter, healthier future for communities across Central America.

We are committed….

to reducing open-fire cooking, in Central America by producing and placing fuel-efficient cookstoves in homes in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras. StoveTeam’s unique model focuses on providing safe, sustainable cooking solutions for families that respect and preserve traditional cooking practices. 

As a result of our efforts, communities and families thrive, reclaiming their health and valuable time. Our vision for the future is that cooking ceases to be a major contributor to climate change and deforestation, and there is universal global knowledge that cooking over open fires is hazardous to health and the environment.

How We Work

StoveTeam’s approach addresses health, environmental, and economic issues associated with open-fire cooking in low-economic communities in Central America. We promote clean cooking through the placement of low-smoke, safe, fuel-efficient cookstoves, encouraging families to reduce the amount of time they spend cooking over dangerous, smoky, open, cooking fires. These stoves reduce indoor air pollution, decrease deforestation, and improve the health and safety of families, especially women and children, who are most affected by traditional cooking methods. We train and hire local people in Guatemala to produce and place our Justa cookstoves in homes in rural Guatemalan villages and we partner with local factories and organizations in El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Honduras to place Justa cookstoves and Ecocina cookstoves in homes. We are committed to providing training, resources, and support to local communities and we build our stoves using locally sourced materials to promote economic development. Our approach not only promotes health and environmental sustainability but also creates economic opportunities and fosters self-reliance within communities.

2023, Our Core Mission….Stoves

StoveTeam’s success in 2023 was made possible by the dedicated support of thousands of individual donors, partner organizations, foundations, and corporations worldwide. Our Justa program in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua received generous contributions from Christadelphian-Meal-A-Day of Americas, SumUp, Roundhouse Foundation, the Goodworks Institute, Tillotson Family Foundation, as well as collective funding from multiple Rotary clubs, and the Hearth Industry of North America Our Ecocina program was generously supported by ClimateHound who sponsored stoves in Nicaragua. Thanks to these invaluable partnerships and the cooperation of local communities and stove recipients, we successfully installed a total of  2,194 improved cookstoves in homes across Central America. This initiative has impacted an estimated total of 14,700 people living in rural indigenous communities, furthering our efforts to reduce open-fire cooking in Central America by providing families with safe, culturally-intuitive, fuel-efficient stoves. 

Guatemala

Thanks to the successful attainment of NGO status in Guatemala last year, in 2023 we expanded our field team and bolstered our in-country capacity to facilitate stove placement across Guatemala and our entire service region in Central America. This significant milestone empowered us to intensify efforts in crucial areas such as educating and training stove builders for partner countries, implementing enhanced monitoring and evaluation practices for all placed stoves, and ensuring effective administration over all regional programs.

In 2023 our dedicated team of nine skilled stove builders successfully installed 767 Justa Stoves throughout Guatemala. These stoves were strategically placed in diverse regions, with a notable concentration in Retalhuleu and Totonicopán. Our commitment in Guatemala extends beyond stove placement; we are committed to actively supporting and engaging with families to comprehensively address their current needs. This holistic approach encompasses continual improvement in stove design, education initiatives promoting proper use and adoption, and the provision of economic and employment opportunities aimed at fortifying families and securing their future.

Nicaragua

Our programs continue in Nicaragua as we work with factory partners to place Justa Stoves and Ecocinas in homes throughout Nicaragua. In 2023 we placed 432 Justa stoves and 348 Ecocinas. We also developed our capacity for monitoring and evaluation in Nicaragua by training new team members in our methods for measuring fuel usage and survey techniques. Our partner, Climate Hound, deepened their commitment to supporting families and reducing carbon emissions and deforestation by sponsoring Ecocina cookstoves.

El Salvador

In El Salvador, we are dedicated to ensuring the success of the Justa project which was piloted in 2022. This involved refining quality control measures, evaluating stove performance for adoption and fuel efficiency, and collaborating closely with families and communities to better understand the needs of Salvadorians and how to implement our projects for maximum impact. In 2023, we successfully supported the installation of 400 Justa stoves in homes surrounding Sonsonate. Looking ahead, we are committed to supporting new initiatives aimed at identifying families in need and establishing stronger connections with families and communities to ensure optimal adoption.

STOVETEAM In The Field

Retalhuleu, Guatemala

TotonicApÁn, Guatemala

Growing Our Team

This year, we welcomed two new employees to our team in the U.S, Tina Talbot and Emily Cupo. Tina Talbot joined us in January as our Administrative/Business Manager and Emily Cupo took her position as Director of Development & Communications in March. Both Emily and Tina have improved our systems and supported our year of transformative growth.

Thank You For Your generous show of support

We are proud to have been supported by grants from the Christadelphian Meal A Day Americas Fund, Good Works Institute, The Roundhouse Foundation, The Delaney-Oxley Family Fund of Triangle Community Foundation, ARIA Foundation, Tillotson Family Foundation, and Rotary clubs worldwide!

WE ARE THRILLED THAT OUR MAJOR DONOR PROGRAM, THE FIRE, CONTINUES TO GROW!

We would like to thank our Fire members who donated $500+ in 2023. When you become a member of The Fire, you support the sustainability and expansion of our programs and initiatives. You directly benefit at least two families in Central America and contribute to the reduction of open-fire cooking throughout Central America, creating a safer, cleaner, planet for all. We would also like to acknowledge members of The Fire who have given major contributions for three years or more (in bold). Thank you for your continued support and generosity.

2023 Members of The fire

STOVETEAM WOULD LIKE TO THANK OUR MONTHLY DONOR, EMBERS

2023 Embers

our partnership with hpba & The Hearth Industry

our sponsors

our partnership with Rotary

Our New field partner, El POrvenir

Charting success

Total Expenses: $946,672

Total Income: $925,912

Total Stoves Placed: 2,194

Employee Giving Programs

Many companies provide their employees with the option to participate in an employee match-giving program. By participating in these programs you have a unique opportunity to amplify your support of our mission and effectively double the impact of your donation. We invite you to join those championing StoveTeam International in their workplace by donating through your employee giving program and encouraging your coworkers to do the same. We would like to especially thank Microsoft for adopting StoveTeam International as one of their Giving Campaign beneficiaries. This year we participated in Microsoft’s San Francisco and San Mateo Giving Campaigns, receiving matched donations from participating employees. These programs help us bring awareness to the dangers of open-fire cooking while also growing support for our stove projects in Central America. We extend a huge thank you to all who are supporting StoveTeam through their company’s Employee Giving Program.

university partners

This past year we had the privilege of partnering with several Universities throughout the U.S. These partnerships provide us with additional support and research that allows us to grow our programs and our development initiatives while providing students with real-world application of non-profit management, international business, foreign language, and data analysis. Working with students also furthers our efforts to raise awareness about the issue of open-fire cooking and our solutions. 

This year we worked with Vanderbilt University, the University of Nebraska - Omaha, and Georgetown College - Kentucky. 

We worked with a talented group of graduate students from Vanderbilt University as a partner organization in their Project Pyramid Course. This group visited our field office in Guatemala in March and then worked throughout the spring semester to develop tools for StoveTeam’s corporate sponsorship program. 

Students of Professor Ben Smith from the University of Nebraska - Omaha, analyzed our field data from our Justa program, in their Data Analysis from Scratch class evaluating our current adoption rates and providing insights on possible adoption barriers and bridges. 

Talented Georgetown College students, Ysa Duenas and Diana Alvarado, led by Professor Abraham Prades completed the translation of our cookbook, “SMOKE: The Flavor of Guatemala”, translating the text from English to Spanish. Professor Prades is a Certified Translator who reviewed and certified the Spanish translation. In the coming year, we hope to produce a Spanish version of StoveTeam’s award-winning  cookbook that will assist with the development of our Central American development arm, connecting us further with corporations and foundations based in Guatemala.

SMOKE: The Flavor of Guatemala

honoring gerry Reicher

On December 4, 2023, StoveTeam International lost a cherished founding member, Gerry Reicher. Gerry played a pivotal role in the inception of StoveTeam and its expansive projects throughout Central America. Nancy Hughes always said that Gerry provided “the brains” while she provided the passion. Regardless of the actual division of labor - the two of them functioned as a perfect team. Gerry's dedication spanned over two decades as he collaborated closely with Nancy and StoveTeam’s many volunteers to shape StoveTeam International's trajectory. Together, they and Don Steely spearheaded the invention of StoveTeam’s inaugural Ecocina cookstove and factory production system that disseminated over 60,000 stoves across five countries in the first decade of StoveTeam’s existence. 

I did not have the opportunity to work directly with Gerry as he had recently stepped down from the Board of Directors when I joined StoveTeam in 2019. However, I cherished several phone and in-person conversations we shared in the later years. Gerry consistently demonstrated unparalleled generosity with his time, always eager to lend assistance in any capacity I sought. What truly resonated with me was his inherent modesty. Despite his obviously pivotal role in laying the foundation of this organization, Gerry rejected the limelight. Yet, the impact of his efforts is palpable through the countless anecdotes, archival documents, meticulous spreadsheets, donated resources, and heartfelt testimonials from those who had the privilege of working alongside him for many years. 

Gerry Reicher undeniably stands as an indispensable cornerstone of StoveTeam's inception, a revered founder whose enduring legacy continues to shape our trajectory. I once asked Gerry to share reflections about his time with StoveTeam. His written expressions not only encapsulate his unwavering dedication to the families we serve but also showcase his keen intellect, boundless curiosity, and relentless drive to effect meaningful change on a significant scale.

~Shelby

Reflections on StoveTeam’s Work and Impact

by Gerry Reicher, Founder and Volunteer, StoveTeam International

When I first visited the houses in Central America it was very distressing but at the same time surprisingly wonderful.  Houses were made of what was available. I often saw corn stalks wired together for inner and outer walls. A frequent roofing was a hard, wavy (for drainage) plastic or metal sheeting. Covering the ceilings, there were black/brown oily wood-tar stalactites; they smelled intensely of wood smoke. The houses were usually one room and about the size of a bedroom in a modest U.S. house. Somewhere on the floor would be an open fire surrounded by three rocks. The mother of the house spent a great deal of time by the fire; she was often carrying the youngest child, and her older children were always close by. 

There was often something against the wall used to stack household and clothing items. Near the fire there was a way to stack up a few cooking utensils. In these homes, there was amazingly little of anything. If there was a decoration it was probably a religious figure. There was usually a pan or two (including something to make tortillas) and pot or two.    

The children amazed me. They had almost nothing to play with, yet they were laughing and frequently playing. The little ones were often attached to mom and if they were older, always near mom. The older ones were quite frequently playing, laughing and smiling - without a single electronic anything; they got along well and rarely complained. A community might have one soccer ball to share. When I came back to check out a new stove, the mother was very often smiling and very often would tell us that she felt so much better because she could breathe.

I despaired of a solution to solve the problems of smoke inhalation and pollution and wanted to do something big. What excited me about starting a stove factory was the potential of distributing many stoves per month. There seemed to be a realistic opportunity to gain on overall air pollution as well as the devastating lung, heart and skin diseases that we saw. I also appreciated helping people gain long-term jobs, and the fact that communities were solving their own problems. This was a very exciting time for me and it seemed that we could really make a substantial impact on half the world's breath. With this project we thought we could truly make a big difference.

~Gerry Reicher, Founding Volunteer & Board Member, StoveTeam International

 Below Are a few stories and Memories from some of the many staff and volunteers

who had the privilege to work closely with Gerry over the years

Nancy Hughes, StoveTeam Founder

I returned from a volunteer medical trip to Guatemala horrified by the burns and other medical problems I had seen.  Taking my mother’s advice, “If you see something, Nancy, do something!”  I was determined to see if I could find something to replace those dangerous open cooking fires.

Speaking to my local Rotary Club, I decided the only way to motivate people to help find a solution would be to take them with me to witness what had so shocked me.  I told the members of the club that I was going but had no idea what we would do, and Gerry immediately offered to help.  

Little did I know that he would be beside me for the next 16 years while we crafted the least expensive, most efficient little stove to change the world.  The Ecocina stove that he, Don Steely and I built in Don’s back yard is still in production today.  All thanks to Gerry and the hundreds of volunteers who made this work possible.

Katie Laughlin, Former Executive Director

I had the good fortune of working with Gerry at StoveTeam beginning in 2014, and came to know him as a cherished friend. He and Nancy were my first coworkers until we hired Kim Forrest, StoveTeam’s third staff member. Gerry was the numbers guy, always tinkering with the calculus behind the manufacturing of stoves -- how to make them pencil out, exploring what a reduction in cement costs would mean for profit. Or the opposite -- how an increase in costs might impact stove production, sales, and ultimately acceptance by households. Gerry was an incredibly humble man. I was told that the concept of stove factories owned and operated by local entrepreneurs was Gerry’s brainchild, a fact he would shrug off, preferring instead to focus on the benefits of stoves and the advantages of local ownership and production. He recognized the scale of the problem of open-fire cooking, and as a cognitive psychologist, Gerry believed that local communities were best poised to solve it. He saw early on the potential of local entrepreneurship and workforce development as drivers of stove distribution and use, amplifying the goodwill of a community of dedicated “stovers.” 

Gerry’s legacy can be seen today in the expanding network of stove producers, installers, educators and ambassadors that fuel StoveTeam’s mission to replace dangerous open-cooking fires. Gerry embodied a philosophy of working hard while finding joy in the process. He was unwaveringly committed to transforming lives, one factory, one stove, and one household at a time.

Susie Andrist, Key Volunteer & Board Member

“Not only did Gerry play a pivotal role in nurturing StoveTeam's growth, he was also dedicated to supporting scholarship and homeless youth programs through the Eugene Southtowne Rotary. Gerry's legacy is characterized by his attentive listening, decisive action, and unwavering commitment to effecting meaningful change. His infectious smile and compassionate spirit left an indelible mark on all who had the privilege of crossing paths with him.”

“Gerry and I shared quite a few trips over the years; my favorite ones were ‘vacation’ trips like the one we made to Chiapas, Mexico to meet with a non-profit interested in opening a factory near San Cristobal de las Casas. On our first evening we had a delightful dinner with Helena and Julio, the founders of the NGO, and learned about their work. 

“The following day, we visited a potential factory site, and were then invited to see a different project village in Guatemala.  We left San Cristobal early the next morning driving over muddy dirt roads on the shortest route to the village when it started to rain. After parking our vehicles at the bottom of a hill, we trudged up to a small village where we were welcomed to a community meeting.  Later, while eating a late lunch, the rain started coming down in buckets, so after discussing design possibilities for a new stove, we slid down the hill and climbed into our two vehicles.  

Once we were there, we realized we had to get down the mountain and across two rivers in the dark.  As we approached the first river crossing we noticed a van stuck in the middle of the torrent so we detoured uphill on the only other road.  The lead vehicle made it to the top easily, however the lightweight pick-up did not.  Julio and a few people on the road then needed to get out in the rain and give the truck a push to get it going.  Both vehicles eventually made it across the second river, and after several hours of driving in the downpour, we arrived at a town with a small hotel where we had a bite to eat.  

In the morning, we learned that a teachers strike had closed all of the main roads and were planning to block them for several days. Fortunately, our hosts knew people who offered to lead us down back roads to get around the blockade.  

We drove on until we came across another blockade where we learned from one of the leaders of the protest that we might be allowed to pass after 6 p.m., and from there we could catch a bus.  Helena and Julio stayed with the vehicles and the accountant/driver accompanied us through the blockade to the waiting buses.  

We boarded, understanding that there were two more blockades ahead.  At the second blockade we hiked to a second bus and were well on our way when we learned that as there had been a shooting at the third blockade, most of the people had dispersed and our bus could continue on.  We eventually arrived in San Cristobal, just in time for the scheduled 4:00 p.m.meeting with a potential project sponsor, their local Rotary Club..