Honduras – Clean and low-consumption stoves protects the environment and the health of children and families

BACKGROUND. Food cooking in rural homes of Honduras involves a high consumption of firewood due to the use of traditional stoves; also this brings high concentrations of smoke into the house, dirty kitchens and the first cause of respiratory illness in family members. The search for firewood is done over long distances off the community, mainly because the forest is disappearing for the increasingly exhaustion. Schools dropout are directly related to this activity because children are mainly responsible for searching and bringing the wood. THE PROJECT. Since 2008, Plan International, a child-centered humanitarian organization, has helped build improved stoves in 4000 households in 6 districts of the country. These stoves consume less wood and produce less smoke than the traditional stoves in rural homes. Their construction was accompanied with practical training on its operation and maintenance and on health, hygiene and cleanliness of the dwellings. RESULTS. Based on reports from local health facilities and community volunteers, these populations have experienced a noticeable fall in the rates of acute respiratory diseases among children and their mothers, who are the most exposed to the stoves' smoke. Moreover, noticeable positive changes are observed in personal hygiene, cleanliness of the houses and cooking practices. CONCLUSIONS. With the improved stoves, rural families in Honduras enjoy better health and cleanliness, and also have more time to devote to productive activities, plus a reduction in forest degradation.