1,500 Clean Cookstoves for Haitian Families

Recently, Haiti Program Manager Jean Gabriel took a batch of Zanmi Pye Bwa (ZPB) cookstoves on a journey north from Port-au-Prince, to see how people in other markets would respond to it.  Since most of the improved cookstove work going on in Haiti has been centered in the capital city, many communities outside of the capital have yet to learn of the various alternatives available to help them reduce their demand for charcoal.  After visiting these communities, Jean found fertile ground to begin introducing the ZPB in other markets. 

A visit to the north coast proved to be very productive. In partnership with an organization out of Ouanaminthe, on the Dominican border, Jean gave a cookstove demonstration to workers near an industrial park on the north coast of the country, which will provide employment to thousands once it is in full operation.  From there he shared the cookstove with the team at Sustainable Organic Integarted Livelihoods (SOIL) in Cap Haitien - our partners in the region.  SOIL's staff were enthusiastic about the design, and are exploring ways to offer the stoves within their service package.  

Currently, Jean is in the Central Plateau of Haiti, looking for potential sites to manufacture the stove outside of Port-au-Prince. While the capital city represents the largest concentration of charcoal users in the country (up to 70% of all charcoal consumers), it is exceedingly expensive to work there, which increases costs of the cookstoves - a major barrier to adoption. Two potential manufacturing sites have been identified in the Central Plateau near Hinche, which is a geographically strategic outpost as well, as it gives us access to the wide-open markets in central and northern Haiti.  

We will continue to keep you informed of all the advances in our Haiti clean cookstove program.  New partnerships and new sites from which to operate hold promise for an exciting 2013.  We thank you for being a part of the story!