The Safe Stove Project is a joint endeavor between Pop Wuj and various communities surrounding Xela to facilitate the construction of safe household stoves to replace open fires in the homes. Our twist on the traditional Guatemalan plancha stove design allows us to integrate the important elements of public health promotion, environmental protection, financial welfare and cultural appropriateness into a relatively inexpensive, durable and easy-to-construct stove. Foreign volunteers and Guatemalan professionals work in concert with local families and community leaders to build safe stoves and address short- and long-term issues facing the community. More than just building stoves, the project fosters a sense of common purpose among members of the Mayan communities as they coordinate, organize and collaborate as a community and, in addition, provides a unique opportunity for foreign volunteers to learn about and interact with members of a very different and interesting culture. As global environmental problems such as deforestation and global warming increase in severity worldwide, safe stoves are a tangible step towards developing and implementing appropriate technologies that can benefit both people and the environment alike.




Stove Design Elements

• Our modified plancha design was conceived by Mynor Arrivillaga, a Guatemalan engineer with over fifteen years of experience designing and constructing safe stoves in Guatemalan communities.

• The modifications to the traditional plancha design increase combustion and heat transfer efficiency, thereby producing a safer, more environmentally-friendly and fuel-efficient stove.

• Combustion Efficiency – Clay and pumice insulate the combustion chamber, causing the fire to burn more combustible gases and produce less smoke. The brick ramp increases the speed of airflow within the        combustion chamber, reducing harmful emissions and conducting smoke into the chimney, which then     channels the smoke out of the house.

• Heat Transfer Efficiency – The brick ramp decreases the size of the combustion chamber, reducing the distance the hot air must travel to heat the cooking surface. The removable concentric rings ensure that the maximum surface area of each pot will be exposed to the fire.

Project Benefits:
Health – Illnesses contracted from smoke inhalation are currently the second leading cause of death among children in Guatemala and have become a serious issue for adults, who run increased risks of contracting major respiratory conditions.  Safe stoves also significantly reduce the risk of contracting major burns from open fires, which are typically constructed in or around living spaces.

Environmental – Improved stoves promote a healthy environment by requiring half the firewood as an open fire to produce an equal amount of heat. As a result, more trees are left standing and fewer harmful pollutants are released into the atmosphere.

Financial – As the rate of deforestation grows, so does the price of firewood. Many families spend over half of their income on firewood alone. The safe stoves we build are approximately 50% more efficient than open fires, thus saving families both the time required to collect firewood and the money necessary to buy it.

How You Can Help:
Volunteering – A number of flexible short- and long-term volunteer positions are currently available in Guatemala. Volunteers generally spend half of each week constructing stoves in the community and the other half assisting with various aspects of the project, including workshop development and fundraising. If you would like to volunteer outside of Guatemala and have any special skills that could benefit the project from afar, such as experience in website design or engineering, please let us know.

Donations – Each stove costs approximately $160 to construct. Consequently, monetary donations are a crucial part of keeping this project alive and are sincerely appreciated. If a financial donation is not an option for you, we welcome donations of stove materials such as bricks, concrete blocks, cement, clay or tools. Donations are tax-deductible in the U.S. via the Foundation Todos Juntos.  Please donate online or contact the Foundation with any questions.