Smokeless Stoves: Ana María

Ana María and her family live in El Chipotón, a community in the department of Chimaltenango. She and her husband, Moises, have four children. Before financing a new, smokeless stove with Habitat for Humanity Guatemala, Ana María used an old stove that filled her kitchen with smoke and used double the amount of wood. In this area, people do not have access to land where they can gather their own wood, so they have to buy wood for cooking and warmth in the markets. Deforestation is an issue in Guatemala and this affects families like Ana María’s. For this reason, having a stove that uses wood efficiently has made a positive impact in Ana María’s life.

She explains how her new stove has changed the amount of wood she must buy to take care of her family: “We use much less wood now. The same amount of wood that used to last for one month now lasts for two months.” Ana María also shares that her old stove was very small, which made it challenging to cook food for her entire family. “I can cook more food now!”, she shares. “And my tortillas turn out really well.”