Augustina
When Juan Carlos Onoñez (from the EcoComal stove factory in Guatemala) delivered a stove to the home of Augustina Lopez Lopez, he found that she had been cooking for her daughter and granddaughter over an open fire inside their home all their lives.
Augustina, her daughter Jessica Roxana Lopez Lopez, and granddaughter, Tania Yajaira Guadalupe Lopez Lopez (plus the cat) survive by weaving traditional cloth in a barren cinderblock room with walls blackened by smoke from the daily fires over which they had been cooking.
As of that day, their lives were changed forever by the gift of a clean, efficient cookstove that meant they no longer had to fear for their health.
This family of 3 is smaller than most in the area (the average is 7.5) but the benefits of their new stove reach deeply into each of their lives. Augustina and her daughter Jessica no longer have to worry about the health of their eyes and lungs due to smoke, and they will be spending half as much money on wood for the fire. Augustina's granddaughter Tania is no longer at risk of burns from falling in an open fire, and she is more likely to complete a good education now that she is less likely to have to help collect firewood and assist with medical conditions resulting from the smoke.
The photo above of Tania Yajaira Guadalupe Lopez Lopez and her cat became one of National Geographic’s best 100 photos of 2017.