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Tower Stove



June 6th

         I recently returned home to Piedras Gordas after traveling to La Canoa in the province of Herrera to visit Peace Corps volunteers Nick Duckworth and John Doyle.  Nick is a CEC volunteer from my training group who is living and working in La Canoa. John is a CEC volunteer that has been working in La Canoa for the last two years.  Nick is overlapping with John for the last few months of his service.  During his time in Panama John has been working on a “Tower-Stove” project in his community and throughout the country.  He designed the “Tower-Stove” with another Peace Corps volunteer, and the founder of Contextual Solutions, Steve Bliss. To date John has built over 30 “Tower-Stoves.”
         The “Tower-Stove” is a particular eco-stove model that built with the  hope of reducing or replacing the use of the fogón (traditional Panamanian wood burning stove).  The “Tower-Stoves” are beneficial because they are more convenient, environmentally friendly and safer to use than the fogón.  “Tower-Stoves” cook meals roughly tree times faster, use a third as much leña (wood used for cooking), produce little to no smoke, and are cool to the touch.  They are also inexpensive, once the wood for the brick molds is bought each “Tower-Stove” costs $3 to construct.
        When I first heard about different types of eco-stoves I started to talk to community members about starting an eco-stove project here.  It turned out that a previous Peace Corps had built stoves for a few families in Piedras Gordas.  These families are very pleased by the stoves’ effectiveness, and as a result lots of other households are interested in having their own eco-stove.  So I decided that before John heads back to the US I would visit him and Nick to learn how to start my own “Tower-Stove” project.
            The trip was very successful! I learned how to build the bricks and design the stoves, and I helped Nick and John build a stove for one of their community members.  I really enjoyed seeing Nick, and meeting John.  John is a fun and knowledgable guy, and was very helpful to hear his perspective on Peace Corps service in Panama.  Plus it didn’t hurt that they sell beer in La Canoa.
I just submitted a grant so I can start my own “Tower-Stove” project.  As soon as I secure funding for the project I’ll be ready to start building stoves in my community.




 







 


       

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