Reducing carbon, improving health

What's the project about?

In Guatemala, the majority of households use firewood for cooking. These are often the most disadvantaged households

These fires cause respiratory problems and burns, and because they are inefficient, the high demand for wood to supply them contributes to deforestation rates. Deforestation is environmentally damaging because trees remove and store carbon emissions from the atmosphere. 

How does the project work?

This project provides households with a fuel-efficient ONIL (concrete) stove that reduces the amount of firewood required. Every ONIL stove in saves around 3 tonnes of carbon emissions per year. The project is designed to reach over 350,000 households in Guatemala over the next decade with improved cookstoves. 

How is the project helping rural families in Guatemala?

By choosing Castrol you are helping us to finance projects like this one, which help rural families across Guatemala benefit from reduced fuel costs thanks to increased efficiency of the cookstoves compared to open fires. ONIL cookstoves use chimney flues to exhaust cooking gases outside of the building, which means families who are part of the project are less likely to suffer from respiratory illnesses. Other benefits to local communities include:

• Less wood required for fuel reduces deforestation in Guatemala
• Households can spend less time gathering firewood and more time on other activities/family time