Bartola Mendoza

Elvin, Jorge, and Oscar are three brothers and three best friends. Like all trios, they undertake adventures together, like running up and down the hills of their community, drawing cartoons on slips of paper, and communicating in hushed tones that only children understand.

Their mother, Bartola, watches from the doorway of her home. It’s been awhile since any of her three boys were sick, and she is relieved. A malfunctioning cooking stove was the culprit of several ailments. “The smoke affected us,” she says. “We bought medicines that were about 10-12 Quetzales per package.” However, they to one small change, a new smokeless stove built by Habitat for Humanity Guatemala volunteers, her boys can now play wherever they desire, their lungs free from smoke fumes.

The new stove, Bartola reflects, is not at all like the old one. “The old stove did nothing but keep us cold when we needed to be warm,” she says. “It had a thick grill and was difficult to heat it. Smoke always leaked out of it, and we also spent too much on wood.” She pauses. “The children were affected a lot. Now, the new stove warms them.”

Bartola explains that the new smokeless stove came about through the courtesy of her neighbors. “We entered Habitat for Humanity’s programming through projects that were taking place in los Encuentros,” she recalls. “One of the families there put me in contact with a promoter for the affiliate, suggesting that they would be connecting with us shortly and following through with a stove.”

She describes the construction process as one of collaboration and determination, pulling all family members together. “The stove was built in April 2017. To cut all the blocks, we took a day with the block machine, and the kids helped out. They also helped clean grills, wet blocks, and put them together. To build the whole stove, it took a day.”

The stove has been beneficial in other ways, especially regarding firewood. In Bartola’s community especially, due to its remote location, any sort of fuel is a precious material and can be difficult to access. “A bundle and a half of wood is very expensive here, and that’s what we were using before the new stove,” she explains. “It’s 300 Quetzales ($43).”

However, the smokeless stove has saved her time and money. “Now, we buy only a little. The extra money goes to food and for the children’s school,” she reflects. Her youngest boys all peep in the doorway, grinning upon hearing reference made to them.

Bartola continues to reveal that her experience working with Habitat Guatemala has pushed her to work on other ventures. “Because of this experience, I want to be more involved in my community. I’m thinking of encouraging other international groups, if they want to support more families in this area. In case that there is another opportunity to support those families, we would be forever grateful.”

As for the group of international volunteers, who played with her children and were friendly, Bartola is incredibly grateful. “Thank you so much. You did something that seemed small, but has made all the difference. And we are excited to have been part of this project.”

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Rosa María Julajuj

Rosa Maria turned twenty-three this past week, and she reflects how different her life has become in the past year. Moving out of her parents’ house was one grand step. Another unexpected, yet, important event was building a new smokeless stove for her home. “For using a little bit of wood and the design of the stove, you can cook quickly and make more plates for family members,” she says.

Rosa Maria and her husband, Maynor, live a few doors down from her mother and younger brothers in the community of Caserio la Fe, a small village located on a gently sloping hillside in the department of Sololá. Rosa Maria is pregnant with their first child, and she is eager to begin a new chapter of independence, something that she has never quite experienced before. However, she recognizes that there are still difficulties. “Here, it takes two half day trips a week to get food for our families,” she explains. “And those are just the basics.”

Stirring a simmering pot of atol, a Mayan corn drink, on her mother’s stove, she alternates speaking in Spanish and Kaqchikel about her relationship with Habitat for Humanity Guatemala. “I shared the experience of learning about the stove with my mother,” she remarks. “I was there when we decided to get involved with Habitat Guatemala. The same day, the same time.”

Around that time, she says, she knew that something had to change for the sake of her health. “I was cooking the ground. It was a hole, and it had no grill for me to use. The smoke affected me the most. It got into my eyes, my throat, my head. I burned myself a lot, and we live somewhere where there is no medical clinic nearby, but rather, a small pharmacy that runs out of supplies a lot.”

Rosa Maria also remembers the economic burdens that cooking in the ground brought her. “We bought wood, which was expensive. 300Q for a bundle,” she mentions. “Now, it lasts me two months, even though the price hasn’t gone down. However, I can cover other household expenses, like eating food.”

Building the stove, she recalls, was a group effort, including many different entities. “For the construction of the new stove, we all worked together using a block machine.” Soon after, a group of international volunteers arrived to help her family put the pieces together. “The group was funny. They hit their heads on the roof because they were too tall.” She giggles. “I remember them playing with my little brothers, eating together, and getting along well.”

When asked if she has any words for the group, she smiles. “I send them my greetings. Thank you very much to them, for the work that they came to do.”

Ruben and Marta Morales Barrios

“There are many economic benefits and advantages. I find it incredible that one little piece of wood will last the whole night, and the grill will still stay hot.” These words belong to Ruben Morales Barrios (54), a proud new owner of a Habitat Guatemala smokeless stove. “We used to buy four bundles of wood, which was 200 Quetzales ($30), which lasted about a season.” He smiles knowingly. “We haven’t used up our first bundle of wood yet.”

Ruben and his wife, Marta (60), built the stove with Habitat Guatemala volunteers a few months ago, and it has made all the difference. They live in Aldea las Pilas, a small village located about twenty minutes from the main town of Retalhuleu. Although Ruben and Marta have a loving family, they have struggled. Their old cooking stove had many issues.

“Our old stove was a grill on top of blocks,” she says. “Smoke leaked out of it, there was no chimney. It felt like we were cooking in the ground. For twenty years, we were like this.”

Marta touches her head, recalling the ailments that she suffered while using their previous stove. “I would get sick from the smoke. I would burn myself from the direct heat coming off the stove. Once in awhile, I went to the health clinic, but it was too expensive to buy medicine.”

When the time came to build their new stove, Marta and Ruben had the support of their neighbors and volunteers. “All the women in our community cut the block and mixed mortar together,” describes Marta. “Then, in one day, the group of volunteers came and built three stoves for our community.”

“The group was ready to work, to help,” adds Ruben. “They all danced and joked, and they were hardworking. It was a blessing to work with them. They are always welcome, and we send them our greetings, for all the work that they did.”

Both Marta and Ruben are dedicated to developing their community into a better place, and Habitat Guatemala has helped. “We came to know Habitat Guatemala because they came to us about three years ago with this roof repair project that had affordable monthly payments,” recalls Ruben. “Now, we help more people get involved with these projects through our local committee. Habitat Guatemala has stayed with us. It has been a blessing to work with them for three years.”

Since then, life has gotten sweeter for the couple, who are are still very much in love. “We are married until death,” jokes Ruben. For over two decades, they have dedicated themselves to raising their two children, Oseas (17) and Karen (20), to study at university. “Any extra money that we save goes to our children’s studies,” affirms Marta.

Reflecting on the experience, Marta and Ruben express how grateful they are to the group and the opportunities to improve her family’s life. “Thanks to God, Habitat Guatemala exists to use its power to help other people. God is doing his work through them, blessing all of the people of Guatemala. They motivate us to make more advances, to make more change. They are a great help.”

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Maria Perez Villatoro

“My husband died seventeen years ago,” whispers Maria Perez Villatoro (57). She sits with her hands clasped under the pale sunlight of early afternoon. “But I have three boys.”

As a single mother, Maria has faced great difficulty in the past. In addition to raising three children on her own, for years, she cooked with an unsteady device made of wood that leaked copious amounts of smoke. The method took an impacting toll on her health. “It hurt my body so much that I have to see a specialist in Quetzaltenango, which is two hours away,” she says. “My lungs are black. That’s what the doctors have told me. I still go in for exams, getting up at 4A.M. to arrive on time for my appointments there.”

Maria knew that she had to replace her stove, but felt wary about the anticipated costs. She had no job and depended on her sons, Israel, Edras, and Alex to find work. They still support her as she grows older. However, money always worried her; she was spending 50 Quetzales ($7.00) on wood each day and had little options that would let her reduce the costs.

Luckily, she found a solution to her economic situation thanks to a visit from Habitat Guatemala. “The organization originally arrived to our village asking if we wanted our roofs repaired about three years ago,” Maria says. “They told us all about their programming and how it was affordable.” Both Maria and her older sister, Marta, who lived in the same community, thought that the payments were reasonable and decided to get involved. They have remained dedicated to Habitat Guatemala’s work as both participants and advocates.

“I went to their office to pick up the laminate for my roof two years ago,” recalls Maria. “Three months ago, I had my stove built by them. For us, the stove is happiness. I like it a lot.”

The new stove has afforded Maria opportunities that she had never imagined. “I still have a cough, but it’s getting better,” she tells us. From the money that she saves on fuel, she puts towards her healthcare costs. “I take a bit of medicine, two little pills, which helps.”

She describes the construction process as highly collaborative and memorable. “We built the new stove in one afternoon. It was a group of women, together, who cut the blocks, mixed mortar, mud, and earth,” she remembers. Then, a group of hardworking international volunteers arrived to help put the pieces together.

“The group was friendly, happy. What was that song that they were singing and dancing to?” she asks her neighbor, Lionel. “Despacito,” he responds. He begins humming the tune, and Maria joins in, gentle contentment on her face. “Some of them spoke Spanish,” she adds. “They joked and danced.”

During a meeting with a village committee, Julia and her husband, Gabriel, first discovered Habitat for Humanity Guatemala’s Healthy Home Kits. They learned that the kit featured a smokeless stove, a sanitary latrine, and a water filter. It would provide them ample opportunity to improve their living conditions. After hearing these testimonials, Julia and Gabriel decided to participate.

Flash forward a few months later, Julia affirms Healthy Home Kits are helpful for families in need. She notes the changes in her family’s day-to-day life. Her new smokeless stove ventilates plumes of smoke out of her home, fostering a healthier kitchen environment. This scene is an enormous contrast with her old stove, which was built by another nonprofit organization, but failed to fulfil her needs. Composed of a few stacked blocks with a small grill on top, the old stove proved to be highly inefficient. There was no chimney. As a result, the room easily filled with smoke when Julia cooked, negatively affecting her health and putting her family at risk.

Julia’s new stove is bigger and easier to use, as well as economically helpful. She notes, the stove has saved her a tremendous amount of time, fuel, and money.“The most important thing about the new stove is that it consumes less firewood,” she remarks. By using less logs to fire up the stove, Julia’s family can save extra money, which Julia spends on “small pleasures” to brighten everyday life. “Like buying a chicken for Sunday lunch or new kitchen utensils to replace the old ones,” she explains, a smile tugging at her lips.

Saving money also allows Gabriel to buy new fabric, threads and needles for his needlework. When he returns from his work in the fields, Gabriel not only sews as a form of hobby. He also sells his work as an extra form of income, allowing the family to support itself.

Apart from the smokeless stove, the new latrine built by Habitat Guatemala volunteers works well. It is cleaner and safer for Julia and her husband. Their previous latrine had been built fifteen years ago and had fallen into disrepair. The ventilation system no longer worked. For that reason, it had become dirty and smelly, due to an unwanted proliferation of bacteria. Now, Julia’s new latrine fosters a cleaner and more private space,

Julia reflects, “I am happy with the Healthy Home Kit, and I am grateful to the group of volunteers who helped us.”