How fuel-efficient stoves are rescuing people and forests in Honduras

There is a fire without smoke in Honduras. Bringing the heat is Blake Lawrence, who is combating carbon pollution with the organisation Cool Effect. For years, rural communities in Honduras have relied on firewood as their main energy source for cooking. But while on a visit to the region, Lawrence discovered the health hazards caused by open fires. Seeking to improve people’s lives, Cool Effect created Proyecto Mirador, a project curbing emissions through fuel-efficient stoves. “Some of the observations that led us to start the foundation were making a connection between respiratory illness and unhealthy living conditions as a result of wood-burning stoves,” Lawrence says. The initiative works with locals to replace these old methods with a sustainable solution. “The Dos por Tres stoves are durable, cost-effective, and meet all the family's cooking needs,” Lawrence says. 

Honduras is one of the most impoverished countries in the world. Four out of every five families depend on firewood for heating and cooking. The fire burns up to eight hours a day while emitting clouds of smoke and chemicals, endangering women and children’s health. But Lawrence’s stoves are minimising harm. “The cooking times have sped up so that the women and children don't have to be inside the homes all day,” he says. Dos por Tres stoves contain a built-in fireplace with a counter, constructed with building materials provided by the community. Equipped with a ceramic firebox, this stove has an insulated interior that funnels the heat to warm up the steel top where pots and pans are placed. Installed with a chimney to divert smoke out of the house, it also utilises less wood, benefiting both people and the environment. “These stoves eliminate toxic smoke from the household and help the planet by saving miles of forest,” Lawrence says. “Today we've reduced over two million tonnes of carbon dioxide.” 

Proyecto Mirador involves and empowers locals in the implementation of the stoves, and over 172 jobs have been created in the area so far. “Dos por Tres stove has benefitted nearly a million people,” Lawrence says. Today, the air in these communities is clean and fresh again. “Big changes can start really small,” Lawrence says.

You can contribute to the work of Cool Effect here.

Footage and photos by Cool Effect were used in the creation of this film.