In the last two months I have been contacted by two organizations about the stoves. Usually I’m contacted to schedule a training session for a village or some other type of request where I have to go and physically participate in a project. But these, along with others as of late, were different.
The first one was a Jesuit mission I have worked with off and on over the last five years. Centro de Capacitación y Formación Nuestra Señora del Camino in San Félix, Chiriquí, República de Panamá is the most organized mission I’ve ever seen. Padre Adonai Cortes is an amazing visionary and leader who is involved with not just the Indigenous but with everyone he comes into contact. A few weeks ago I was contact and asked to come down to the mission.
When I got there I was taken to a site where they were making bricks with a press they had shipped here from South Africa. They told me they could make enough bricks in one day using this press to build everyone a stove the next day. Two days and everyone in a village has a stove. They are excited about the prospects to better the lives of so many and the effectiveness of the stoves and now their efficiency in building them. It’s quite remarkable actually. They took the stove building to a new level.
The second was a government organization here in Panama. La Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente is the organization responsible for safeguarding the environment here in Panama. The Peace Corps here in Panama has been working with them on teaching communities the benefits of the stoves and now they have gone off on their own training towns and villages all over. The director, Laurda, was excited to see me and show me pictures of all the stoves they have made in villages.

They are still using the stove molds (Bliss Burner) model. The reason CS moved away from this model was due to the need (dependency) of an outside entity to provide the mold. In contrast, using the Tower Stove communities need nothing other than knowledge to create their solution to the problem. However, in this context, the government will continue to produce the molds and make it part of their work in the communities to save the environment. So the Bliss Burner has found a home and is alive and well.
In both cases these stoves are easy to build and greatly reduce the smoke and wood fuel use which makes them desirable to communities. The cost is only their time and effort so this is a solution that works well. While our stoves are just two models of smokeless stoves in the world, and not the most efficient in that long list, our stoves are accessible to those who need it and independent of outside resource needs. Simply put, our stove approach empowers, rebuilds dignity and move communities down the path of progressive community development from the inside out. And we are proud to be a small part in that sustainable endeavor.
Godspeed,
Steve
Beyond Us
Wrapping-Up










Cinnamon rolls were something they had never seen. In no time they were making them with ease. Nick taught them how to do meat and chicken in the oven with a hint of smoky flavor. However, white bread rolls were by far what they wanted to learn to make. This is the type of bread most people on the Comarca are accustomed to and the women decided it would sell.

So another year has gone by and we find ourselves in Bocas del Toro installing water systems for another indigenous village. This time we are on Isla San Cristobal in a community where Peace Corp volunteer Kim Woods has been stationed for about two years. Kim has done a great job organizing the project to bring clean drinking water to the community. She has the community members involved with the the project and actively working along side the volunteers that came from the states. And what’s more amazing is the community is actively involved this week while Kim is in the states. That shows a strong commitment from the community which is very encouraging to me. As I’ve mentioned in past blogs, we prefer to work with Peace Corps volunteers on projects because of their community commitment. They do all the project prep work and follow up which makes our work easier and guarantees a high rate of success for the projects.
Often times it is us, the affluent, who impulsively decide what the third world needs. And more times than not we simply dump short sighted solutions on communities while the community stands back and wonders what we are doing. I’ll spare you my rhetoric about empowerment approach vs. handouts as I’ve said enough about it in the past. It’s good to see local people active in recognizing the need for clean water and owning the project by creating the solution themselves. Good work Kim. Before we left the project site yesterday Nick and I asked the community not to finish the project through the night so the group could help. We were half joking but the community is so motivated it could have been a possibility.
The volunteers from this group have come here all the way from the small town of Camby Indiana, USA which is just south of Indianapolis. They are part of a church youth group from the non denomination church simply called Camby Community Church. The youth pastor, Mark Lynch, is one of the parts of humanity that I’m thankful to know. He’s a genuinely real person and often that is hard to find in the pastorate. I appreciate the work he does and the time he spends influencing the kids that pass through his door. They are better people because of his influence. No matter what age you are, Mark is a good person to know. The group is hard at the project and additionally they are doing vbs programs with the community kids. Good work Camby!




















