Last summer, two undergraduate students from UVA, Amy Rogers and Claire Hennigan, came down to Honduras to conduct a research project under the direction of our Research and Evaluation Director, Johanna Chapin. Their project was to test the energy efficiency of the eco-stoves Public Health Brigaders install in homes in rural Honduras. Amy and Claire conducted their research by testing the fuel consumption and energy expenditure of the stoves, as well as the community’s qualitative opinions of the stoves.
(Claire and Amy in Honduras)
Amy and Claire’s research showed that in one hour of cooking, Global Brigades eco-stoves will reduce wood consumption by 26.4% compared to traditional adobe stoves (fogon normales). Also, families with GB eco-stoves reported collecting about 12 kilos of wood less per week than families with traditional stoves and were 21% more satisfied with their stoves.
In a year’s time, one family with a GB stove will save 31 hours of hard labor in wood collecting and 619 kilos of wood from being cut down! In a community the size of Joyas del Carballo, this could total over 47,000 kilos of wood saved per year due to the construction of Global Brigades eco-stoves.
Global Brigades eco-stoves are more economical in terms of:
Wood consumption:
•GB stoves burned two kilos of wood (4.4 lbs) in a mean time of 87.07 minutes; Fogones normales consumed two kilos of wood in a mean time of 64.07 minutes.
Wood gathering:
•Households with GB stoves collect an average 26.81 kilos of wood per week; Households with fogones normales reported collecting a mean value of 38.72 kilos of wood per week.
Time spent collecting wood:
•Households with GB stoves save about 35.6 minutes per week collecting wood which results in 23 hours per year of additional free time for households with these stoves.
Stove Satisfaction:
•GB stoves: Community members reported 100% satisfaction, compared with 79% satisfaction for fogon normales.
Needed Repairs:
•GB stoves: 6% ; fogones normales: 68%
QUALITATIVE RESPONSES:
One respondent explained that, “the forest is now being cut down less. In the past people needed many palos (sticks of wood) for stoves and now they need much less.”
