These Fuel Saving Stoves greatly reduce the amount of firewood used for cooking as compared to using an open fire on the floor. This is a very important compliment to EPIC’s program of planting trees for reforestation. To achieve reforestation it is necessary to be planting significantly more trees than local people need to cut for cooking. Using less than half as much wood to cook also saves time and labor spent cutting, splitting, and carrying wood.

Can you imagine a more significant kitchen upgrade! Having a chimney dramatically improves the health of anyone cooking because breathing smoke often causes significant lung damage. Cooking over an open fire with no chimney fills the kitchen with smoke that contains dangerous particulates and carbon monoxide. The World Health Organization estimates that there are 4.1 million premature deaths per year due to respiratory problems caused by indoor cooking. Women who have cooked over an open fire for years are particularly effected.