Celestina Garcia and her husband have lived in their current house for 4 years. Her husband works in agriculture, while Celestina is a homemaker, caring for their 3 daughters, Sandra Cecilia (8), Maria Guadalupe (6) and Ilene Estephania (2).

Before  partnering with Habitat Guatemala to receive her smokeless stove, María used to cook on an open fire “pollo” in the ground. The open fumes from the stove affected their health.  “Before we suffered a lot from the smoke in the house” Celestina shared, “now we don’t suffer because of the grill –it heats the food better and it saves a lot of wood.”

Her favorite meal to make is chow mien with vegetables, it is unanimously the favorite dish for all three of her daughters. For the group that came to help construct their stove, Celestina sends this message, “thank you to all of you who came—if it wasn’t for you we wouldn’t know how to construct a stove with a grill. They’ve helped us a lot. We’re grateful to you all, we are so thankful, the stove is beautiful.”

Maria Elsy, her husband and their eight children have lived in their current house for the past 21 years in the district of El Duranzo. Recently, Maria received her first smokeless stove as a part Habitat’s housing improvements project.  Before then, she cooked on an outdoor stove, where she was exposed to heavy smoke trapped inside her small kitchen.

The smoke often got in her eyes and throat. What she says she loves most about her new stove, “there’s no smoke!” A chimney funnels the smoke outside of the house allowing Maria to cook, unbothered by the fumes. “We’re happy and content,” she says. Maria Elsy loves to cook traditional dishes but her favorites she says are stewed tomatoes, frijoles and lacha.

To the volunteers who came to her home and helped to build her stove, she says, “I’m grateful that you came. I’m grateful to God for giving you the ability to do this and for giving you the desire to come.”

Estella Ixla and her family of seven live in El Durazno, Chimaltenango. Estella is a homemaker and her husband, Samuel, works in agriculture.

She shares with us the effect that having her smokeless stove has had on her daily life. “Before a lot of wood was wasted but now we actually save wood.” “I can cook a lot at the same time, and I can make my tortillas.” When asked about her favorite meal to prepare she says she loves to cook everything on her new stove because it’s so much quicker. And then she adds “but especially pepian,” a traditional dish made of grilled tomato, onion, cilantro, garlic, vegetables and peppers.

To the group of volunteers, Estella sends this message, “I want to say the them, thank you, for giving us this stove because of your help we are better.”