[fsf60k] cutting down on smoking
- From: richard wiltamuth <dwiltam@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "fsf60k@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <fsf60k@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 16:06:15 -0400
dear friends,
the sight of nicaraguan cooks hovering over smoky fires all day has always
bothered me, as well as the amount of wood hauled in from the hills to
prepare meals. there may be an answer.
i have made contact with brian davis, who is part of a nonprofit group
called the nicaragua initiative for community advancement. among other
things, it has a factory near granada that has produced about 2,000 brick
stoves of the "rocket stove" type for about $10 each. the "coci-nica" is
said to cut smoke and fuel usage by 50 percent.
during our spring trip, i propose visiting the factory and buying a few to
have our communities test them. if the stoves pass muster, more of them
could be purchased.
below is an article written by brian davis that includes a link to their
website. or you can google "coci-nica" to find out more.
best to all,
dick wiltamuth
The Coci-Nica is changing the rules of the kitchen By: Brian
Davis<http://community.nicaraguadispatch.com/author/briandavis/>|
March
1, 2014
ShareEmail
Print<http://community.nicaraguadispatch.com/2014/03/01/the-coci-nica-is-changing-the-rules-of-the-kitchen/#>
[image: The Coci-Nica is providing employment and healthier cooking in the
Nicaraguan countryside]
The Coci-Nica is providing employment and healthier cooking in the
Nicaraguan countryside
Most poor Nicaraguan families cook with firewood. You've seen the "three
rock" open fires and the blackened walls of their smoke-filled kitchens.
Imagine the lungs of the mothers and children that spend much of their time
in those kitchens.
[image: The traditional way of cooking]
The traditional way of cooking
Consider also that a family of five spends about 20 Cordobas a day to
purchase their firewood, or cuts down trees and carries the wood long
distances on their backs. Children are often burned by the exposed fires
and women spend their days in the hot, smoky kitchens. Around the world,
over 2 million women and children die yearly from inhaling the smoke from
cooking fires. All told, smoke emitted by cooking fires contributes more to
climate change than automobiles do.
Over 2,000 Nicaraguan families have found a better way to cook: the
Coci-Nica, a highly efficient clay-brick wood-burning stove based on a
rocket stove design.
Produced in Las Comarcas de La Laguna, near Granada, and made entirely of
local materials and with Nicaraguan ownership and labor, the Coci-Nica uses
one-third of the firewood, emits very little smoke, cooks much faster, and
is protected from the wind and children. It can burn firewood of any size,
from large chunks to small twigs and cooks up to 5 gallons of food. It even
works with charcoal. The Coci-Nica last for many years and saves the
average family about $150 each year.
[image: The 'new way' of cooking]
The 'new way' of cooking
A simple, low-tech, realistic solution to a big problem!
At 250 Cordobas ($10) the Coci-Nica is accessible to all but the poorest
Nicaraguans. There are more efficient wood-burning stoves in the world, but
none at a realistic price that is sustainable within the true economy of
Nicaragua.
The 2,000 families who currently use this energy-saving stove paid for
them; they were not charity! And the production and sale of the Coci-Nica
is providing good jobs for five residents of the *comarcas*.
Although we never give it away, some of the very poorest families still
cannot afford the full price of the Coci-Nica. Would you like to help by
subsidizing stoves for some of these families? Do you have a business that
could finance or subsidize stoves for its employees? Are you connected to
an NGO that would like to subsidize stoves? One hundred dollars will allow
17 families to purchase a stove at a price they can afford.
Please contact us at nancy.brian@xxxxxxxxx or call us at 8991-0543. More
detail is available at our
website<http://nicafund.org/initiatives/nica-communities/laguna-apoyo#pane4>
.
It's a small investment with a guaranteed large return!
ShareEmail
Print<http://community.nicaraguadispatch.com/2014/03/01/the-coci-nica-is-changing-the-rules-of-the-kitchen/#>
About Brian Davis More by this
author<http://community.nicaraguadispatch.com/author/briandavis/>
[image: Brian Davis]
Brian and Nancy first came to Nicaragua in 2007 to visit a son who was
living in the country after a stint in the Peace Corps. They fell in love
with the land and people of Nicaragua and eventually bought property on the
rim of Laguna de Apoyo. The next year they built our house and began their
adventure into discovering how the culture works here.
Other related posts:
