Smokeless Stoves: Ramona Yaxon

Ramona Yaxon  lives in Sololá, Guatemala, with her husband. Her ten children are married and live with their families, so she and her husband live alone in their house. When her children moved out, they moved the kitchen area into a different part of the house so that they would have more room.

“My old stove worked,” explains Ramona, “but over time it deteriorated. It used a lot of wood and filled the kitchen with smoke.”

“My new stove works perfectly!”, Ramona exclaims. “I can use wood, pine cones, or corn hulls and it burns well. While I cook, my husband sits at a table next to the stove and we talk. We are never far apart.”

Sitting outside in the sun, Ramona talks about her life. “We have some land and my husband grows corn that he sells. And I raise ducks! I used to have pigs too, but one day I fell and hurt my knee. My kids told me I was too old to raise pigs anymore. You need a lot of strength for that! I wanted to raise pigs in my courtyard but they said no. So now I just have ducks.”

Ramona is Maya and in her part of Guatemala the language that is spoken is Kaqchikel. Recently, Ramona shares, she has started studying the Bible with two American Jehovah’s Witnesses missionaries who have given her a Bible in her language. “I lived my whole life without religion.”, Ramona explains. “And I am old but I have asked God for a few more years on earth so that I can enjoy my new stove!”