Smokeless Stove: María Xil

Maria Elisea lives in Aldea Xesuj with her two children, Maria (26) and Edgar (22) and her grandson Cesar (4). For the past 16 years Maria has cooked for her family using an open fire “pollo” stove.

Smoke from the open stove gave her fits of coughing and affected her eyes and lungs. Just recently, Maria received a smokeless stove from Habitat when a group of volunteers came to her village to help her build it. Maria says her favorite thing about the stove is the chimney that pushes smoke out of the house and keeps it from contaminating the air inside her house.

It is the greatest gift she has ever received, she shared. Maria loves her new stove. Now she can cook more items on her new stove. Her favorite food to cook on her new stove is a traditional caldo de gallina, or chicken soup. Now she spends less time outside over the open fire of her previous stove and now has an indoor area with her new smoke-free stove.

Maria is grateful for the ways the stove has improved her life and is thankful for all the volunteers who came to help build it.