Eco Stoves for the Environment

Since its inception in 1964, the Peace Corps Partnership Program has helped thousands of Peace Corps Volunteers implement community-initiated projects worldwide.  Now I am taking on a new Eco-Stoves for the Environment project in Panama that needs your support.

This project, developed to address a pressing community need, will be implemented by both myself and local partners.  This project will benefit the people of the community for many years to come. 

In order to begin implementation, I must raise $2,097.50 from friends, family and other interested donors.  The people of the community and I are asking for your assistance to turn this project into a reality.

The community is located in a semi-mountainous region in central Panama with a population of about 125 people. The majority of the inhabitants work in small scale agriculture and cattle farming. While the community has benefitted from government aid and projects in the past, and currently is executing projects with environmental focus, much work is still to be done. The previous volunteer began an Eco-Stove Project, and in conjunction with the Panamanian Environmental Agency, built 14 family stoves in the community, as well as two in the churches, and one for the school. The project was successful and helped to generate a larger community interest in the project. This new phase of the project is to build 25 more stoves, not only benefiting the immediate community, but also two other nearby communities. The project objectives include: supporting families with the resources necessary to have access to the new technology; reducing deforestation due to more efficient burning of wood, reduction of health risks caused by smoke inhalation and burns, and a better overall quality of life for the families involved. Teaching the community why and how to properly use the cook stoves is much more important that the actual stoves themselves. The stoves will be built by an expert along with the assistance of the community members. Each household will be responsible for gathering sand, gravel, and ash before the stove is built, and will be responsible for helping the expert build the stove.

As for donations, the two easiest options are to:

            1.      The donor may call us and we can take the donation to your project number 525-186 by credit card over the phone 202-692-1682 .

            2. The may may donate online to www.peacecorps.gov/donate, searching for the project number 525-186 or my last name, Stypa.