Protect Vital Forests, Air, Health for Hondurans

This month, our executive director, Sebastian, traveled to Honduras with his 13-year-old son to visit the people and places at the foundation of our clean cookstoves program. Sebastian started with TWP as an intern in Honduras more than 20 years ago, and has maintained close relationships with local partner, AHDESA, and with the communities who continue to lead the program. As TWP has grown over the past 27 years, the clean cooking program has expanded alongside it, and we’re always inspired by the impact it continues to create. 

A key milestone of this expansion, we’ve recently supported AHDESA in formalizing an agreement for the Paraiso Verde project, which will benefit an additional 1,300 people in the department of El Paraiso. As well as supporting the construction of 250 additional stoves by local builders, the project will contribute to broader sustainability and community leadership efforts in the region. Paraiso Verde will align with the national-level goal of reducing firewood consumption, support sustainable management of nearly 100,000 hectares of forest, and promote coordination between local organizations, communities, governments, and technical entities. The project will also involve the recruitment and training of more women stove builders through the Maestros Fogoneros program. 

While the region’s challenges have only grown more acute in the past several months against economic and political shifts, this program represents continued advancement towards sustainability, gender equity, and grassroots leadership. Amidst these challenges, it’s crucial we continue to invest in solutions that simultaneously address economies, wellbeing, and the environment, especially within communities that are particularly vulnerable. 

And while so much has changed in Honduras over the past 20 years, some things haven’t. We continue to find our local partners and friends working relentlessly to improve conditions for their communities. We continue to see the stove program expand to reach more and more families, under local guidance and leadership. And we continue to see the impact of a stove design championed by the inspiring woman who started it all, Doña Justa. 

TWP is immensely grateful to the communities who started this program with us decades ago, and to the GlobalGiving community for helping to ensure it continues long into the future.