Proyecto Mirador eco stoves

Yesterday I had the pleasure of witnessing the construction of one of Proyecto Mirador's dos pro tres eco stoves here in Siguatepeque.  Rev. Francisco Lone, the new rector of San Juan Church here and an old friend of mine from Tela had the stove built in the back area of the rectory.  There had been an old wood burner back there previously, but it had crumbled and was removed.  Francisco had his friend Manuel from Tela come and construct the new stove.  Manuel is a licensed contractor with Proyecto Mirador and has built over a hundred stoves and trained others including my friend deacon Jamie in Matazanales.  Francisco was formerly the rector at one of our churches in Santa Barbara where the  main office and production plant for Proyecto Mirador is located and has been involved with the program for 6 or 7 years.  In addition, Doña Emilla Mendoza, project Director for Honduras, is the wife of Father Mendoza, the new dean of the Santa Barbara Deanery.  So the Episcopal Church is well represented in this very worthwhile cause.

The base is provided by the recipient.  Manuel begins construction of the stove.

While we watched Manuel work, Francisco explained the three phases of the process: Education, Preparation and Construction.  The education phase includes seminars with the potential recipients involving the many health and ecological benefits of the stove.  Proper operation and maintenance of the stove is also taught.  Preparation involves the family's construction of the base for the stove and some of the materials, bricks etc.  Proyecto Mirador produces and provides several specialty parts including the chimney vents and griddle.  The actual construction of the stove is carried out by trained technicians such as Manuel.

Father Francisco assists in the installation of specially manufactured, fired elements that form the fire box of the new stove.

Since 2004, Proyecto Mirador has installed 100,000 stoves in Honduras, greatly reducing the carbon footprint and improving the health of many families.  I have personally witnessed the

improvement in health through working with medical teams in areas where these stoves have been built.  Assisting people with eyeglasses since 2005, I have witnessed fewer complaints of burning eyes and have heard doctors speak of less respiratory problems.  Other benefits include using less wood.  The dos pro tres creates more heat with a third as much wood saving time and resources.  I've also seen kids out gathering stacks of wood during the day when they should be in school. Using less wood frees them up to attend classes more often.

Interior of the stove

Since I have several teams considering taking part in this program, I was very thankful for the opportunity to actually witness one being constructed.  Start to finish in about 2.5 hours.  Cost is about $125 a stove.

Manuel and the nearly completed stove.

For more information about Proyecto Mirador, please visit http://www.proyectomirador.org