GVI Phoenix stoves start in Perú

Work has got underway on the first three GVI Phoenix stoves to be built in Perú, in our new project, Canocota, a small town outside of Chivay.



Local conditions determine how we proceed when we start a new stove project and this time it meant a change of material specification as we found out that here high in the Andes they don’t use concrete blocks! However, after searching around we have been able to find an alternative block, made from brick, which will do the job.

Some of the families don’t have stoves and do their cooking on the ground with rocks, whilst other families have existing small mud made stoves, although to call them functioning would be an overstatement. We removed one in five minutes after seeing it fall apart with a couple of taps from a hammer.

The community have been eager to help out and we have had several local men, women (and a baby alpaca!) helping us out in the various stages, such as moving the materials to site and the actual construction.

As usual we are building the first stoves for families who have children in the school and so left the decision as to the order of when families receive their stoves to the school committee. Which they proceeded to do the most democratic way they knew how: by drawing lots from a hat.

The first family has three children in the school, Maria, Alfredo and Soledad, whilst Gabby who attends Inicial lives in the family who are the recipients of the second stove. Young Raúl, a first grader in the school, has been keen to help out whilst we have been building the third stove in his house.

Within the next week we hope to have completed all the initial stoves and one week later three of the families of Canocota will be seeing the benefits of a larger, smoke free and wood efficient stove.

GVI Phoenix stoves start in Perú