Community Cloud Forest Conservation (CCFC), our partner nestled in the central highlands of Guatemala, was co-founded in 2008 by Tara and Rob Cahill. CCFC works with Q’Eqchi’ Maya people from mountain villages in the remote Central Highlands of Guatemala. They alleviate poverty and decrease deforestation through education, especially of young women and girls.

While CCFC’s work is focused on agroecology and keeping girls in school, public health has become an auxiliary focus, especially with the help of Tara’s cousin, Dr. Tricia Hall, DO. Hall has been a longtime LPGM supporter and board member. 

Finding a Healthier Alternative

Finding these traditional stoves to be a public health issue, CCFC launched a sustainable stove project. Their goal was to promote an alternative stove model that met the unique needs of the community but offered better health outcomes.

The first step was to find the right type of alternative stove. They needed a stove that was big enough, hot enough, and portable. They chose a stove that used less firewood, had a smaller box, kept the fire hot and contained, and had a chimney attached in the back, allowing smoke to be released. Using less firewood would also save families time and conserve natural resources.

While other organizations had attempted to address the issue, they were often “one and done” projects with little follow-up. The organizations would provide stoves and then leave the region, causing families to abandon their new stoves whenever they needed repair or a replacement part. 

Other well-meaning organizations installed permanent stoves with cement bases. Q’Eqchi’ Maya communities are relatively transient, since they are reliant on the land and need to move when they exhaust available resources. When families moved, they had to leave these permanent stoves behind.

Making the Solution Accessible

Once the stove model was selected, the next step was to get people excited about the new stoves. Hall's team began with CCFC student employees who had already been using the stoves on CCFC’s campus and liked them, so it was an easy sell. Student employees quickly started taking the team up on their offer.

Interested employees can have part of their salary withheld and set aside for the stove purchase. The full cost of a stove is about $200, but once they set aside 75% of the stove’s cost, CCFC pays the remaining 25%, place the order, arrange delivery, set the stove up, and show how to fix it if needed. 

This process empowered student employees and helped them feel invested in the outcome, while also offering support.

Success Story

Silvia is one of the young women who received an incentive from a CCFC supporter, saved towards the stove, and eventually purchased one through CCFC.

Her relationship with CCFC began as a student participant in its Women in Agroecology Leadership for Conservation (WALC) program, and she eventually became a long-time staff member.

Once Silvia purchased the stove, she brought it home as a Christmas gift for her parents. The CCFC team visited her village, met her family, and saw them use their new stove.

After seeing the stove in action, Silvia’s mother’s neighbor expressed interest in a stove. This is exactly how the project gained momentum. It began to spread organically through word of mouth.

Pictured above: Laura (back right) and Angelica (back left) are two former WALC students who became teachers & staff members at CCFC. They stand proudly by the stove they saved up for and brought home to their mother, grandmother, and little sister. There are three generations of tortilla makers in this photo.

Initial Impact

CCFC staff repeated their survey seven years later in 2024. The percentage of families using traditional, chimneyless stoves decreased from 99% to 77%. While this decrease is likely due to a combination of factors, the stove project certainly contributed to this positive shift.

CCFC's stove project is helping communities invest in safer, healthier, and more sustainable cooking solutions. 

Video above: The WALC team observes a stove installation. The open fire stove on the left produces large clouds of smoke, while the new stove with a chimney on the right produces almost no smoke. While the two stoves are in the same room, the difference in smoke creates the illusion of them being in two separate rooms.