Reflection From Nancy Hughes,

“Designing a Stove With Larry and Gustavo”

One day Larry Winiarski, having heard me speak at a Rotary presentation, knocked on my door. It was from Larry that I learned it wasn’t all about burns; it was the smoke from indoor cooking fires causing the pterygium and respiratory problems I’d witnessed firsthand.

Later, Larry called me from El Salvador to say he had designed a stove for me, and that he had also found Señor Gustavo Peña, a smart, energetic, local Salvadoran to produce it.

At the weekly Southtowne Rotary Club meeting I told everyone I was going to go to El Salvador to meet a guy who wanted to make stoves. I said, “I have no idea what we’ll do, but does anyone want to join me?”

Much to my surprise, Gerry Reicher, an introverted, retired professor; Don Steely, a smart, energetic guy who wore a prosthetic leg; and our veteran volunteer, Gail Norris, the one wearing the Mickey Mouse hat in Playa Grande, offered to join me.

I had no idea then that this group of incredibly smart, compassionate, and energetic retirees would be the foundation of an international initiative that not only gave us an excuse to travel, but one I am proud to say continues to this day.
When we landed at the airport in San Salvador, Larry was there to greet us, dressed as usual in a pair of well-worn overalls. Pointing to a tanned, energetic Salvadoran in his late-50’s, Larry introduced me to Gustavo in English, “Nancy. THIS is Gustavo.”

Señor Gustavo Peña was totally prepared and brought out an Excel spreadsheet of our appointments for the week. Gustavo rushed us to his ancient Kia saying, “We need to hurry as our first appointment is with the Vice Minister of the Environment”. I learned later that enterprising Gustavo wasn’t shy about approaching anyone to talk about his new venture.

I was excited and glanced nervously at the stove in the trunk; we pitched Don’s prosthetic leg in the back so we could all squeeze in, and excitedly made our way to the elegant Ministry of the Environment.

Later, Larry stood at the front of the conference room before a group of government functionaries and a white board; and, still in his tattered overalls, carefully explained how this small, “rocket stove” worked.

The handsome and well-dressed, bi-lingual, Vice Minister who had been waiting in his office, wandered into Larry’s presentation. He looked at the drawing of the Ecocina, a round metal bucket with a single hole in the top and another on one side. He said that it looked a bit like a toilet, and he wasn’t sure people would accept it, but even so, he was interested in seeing how it worked. I held my breath, hoping the stove would be acceptable.

Don and Gerry rushed back to the car, dragged the stove out of the trunk and then onto the grass in the backyard. The Vice Minister ambled around the corner to find a liter pot and filled it with water.

Feeling nervous, and acting on faith as I hadn’t yet seen the results of Don, Larry and Gustavo’s efforts, I hoped for the best as we gathered a bit of trash wood from the formal garden. Larry lit the stove, and, with only four small sticks of wood, and not even a bit of smoke, the heat came out of the top at 1,000° F. The little stove boiled the liter of water in less than eight minutes -- the same as a microwave.

Later testing of Larry’s design would show an 86% reduction in carbon emissions and particulate matter and a 56% reduction in wood usage.

The Vice Minister was impressed, and much to our surprise and delight, announced, “I like it. It does look a bit like a toilet, but we have about five and a half million dollars for a project like this. What is your capacity? ....”

Five and a half million dollars? Was he kidding? Our capacity was two stoves. We knew then that we definitely weren’t ready.

Later, it was Gerry, always the voice of reason, who said, “Listen. We have a great product. We have a man who wants to produce it, and we can raise money.” I realized at that moment that Gerry would be instrumental in implementing this new plan and that I couldn’t give up. Whatever might be happening, one thing was clear: working with stoves to protect the women and children in Central America was my future.

– Nancy Hughes, Founder, StoveTeam International