Our International Program Coordinator Alex Eaton has already hit the ground running, setting up meetings with StoveTeam contacts and stove experts as he made his way from his home in North Carolina to his new home in Antigua, Guatemala. Here is his first official update from the field.
I would like to share a few stories from the field, of the fun and exciting things that are happening on the ground. Central America is full of surprises and things waiting around the bend, but I will try to focus on our projects and community visits.
Alex at a Copán Mayan Ruins Mural, Honduras
Ten days ago, Mike [Mike Hatfield, StoveTeam’s Executive Director] arrived in El Salvador to accomplish two main tasks: Train the new field worker (myself) and check up on the factory partners in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. It’s been quite a whirlwind of visits, dinners, early mornings and lots of driving. For me, it’s been a perfect introduction to what my job will entail – boosting sales of factories and helping more communities, but also understanding the mechanics of each partner and looking for solutions to problems as they arise. We had the ability to connect with an NGO working in San Salvador called Convoy of Hope. Their mission is to supply schools with donated shipments of food that will feed school kids. Gustavo Peña, our partner factory owner in El Salvador, hopes to connect with this optimistic nonprofit to aid in the cooking aspect by donating large institutional stoves to schools. Open fires are the norm across Central America, and schools are a great target focus because the ladies are cooking for hundreds of children.
Alex (far left) and Mike (far right) deliver a large institutional stove to a kindergarten class in El Chilar, Honduras.
During our stay in Honduras, we were able to see some of the projects that Honduras factory owners Anibal Murcia and Rossana Berganza are focused on. Rossana is a local school teacher and runs a program on Saturdays that teach a group of students about the environment. These 20 “Environmental Ambassadors” receive two hours of instruction about environmental problems and take field trips in the community to see how we can help the environment through our actions. They have also visited Anibal’s factory to see how EcoCopan stoves are made.
Rossana’s Environmental Ambassador program meets on Saturdays in Copán Ruins, Honduras.
Another part of Mike’s visit was to see Ecocina stoves in action. Anibal took us to San Jose Las Lágrimas, a makeshift community that was set up along the border of Honduras and Guatemala. Nancy and a team of volunteers visited in 2012 to deliver stoves. People were living with substandard plastic houses and were struggling. We wanted to see the town’s conditions and check on the stoves that had been delivered previously, and we were successful. The town has doubled in population size and its residents have constructed houses of adobe and concrete but there’s still no electricity. The town leaders remembered Nancy and the volunteers’ visit, and showed us several Ecocina stoves that were still present. One lady in particular had built an adobe base and continues to cook daily with her Ecocina for beans and rice. This visit shows the durability of our stoves, and how if used correctly, StoveTeam’s work is offsetting carbon emissions.
A stove in San Jose Las Lágrimas, Guatemala that has seen daily use since it was delivered by StoveTeam volunteers in 2012.
From left to right: Emerson Peña, Mike Hatfield, Aníbal Murcia, Gustavo Peña, and Alex Eaton in Copán Ruinas, Honduras.
After a lengthy shuttle ride from Copan Ruins, Honduras, Mike and I arrived in Antigua, Guatemala – the place where I will be based. I am still getting settled into my studio apartment, located in the quaint village where the EcoComal factory is based, and this morning I learned that my landlady lived for 20 years in Hawaii while she saved money to settle down in her hometown. I am excited to work with Guatemala factory owner Marco Tulio and his sales manager Juan Carlos as we look forward to connecting with more communities and starting an educational program like the Ambassador program in Honduras. Recently we met with two educational leaders and both were delighted to partner with StoveTeam and introduce the educational programming into their communities.
A stove recipient in Santa Maria Sibaja, Guatemala.
Central America is full of potential and Antigua has much to offer. I look forward to building relationships in Guatemala and moving our mission forward.
Saludos a todos, Alex