Do-it-yourself stoves- Guatemala Style!

Or actually, 17 stoves.  Teams of SHE volunteers worked alongside the families of La Reforma to get the first stoves built.  Three Guatemalan contractors will continue working on them until every house in the village has one- 63 in total.  This is no small feat!  Check out how it happened.

First, the materials had to be hauled to the houses.  The men of La Reforma do this the traditional way- by using their heads.  The Americans struggled to keep up, until somebody noticed a shiny wheelbarrow in one of the houses.  Suddenly a whole stream of unused wheelbarrows appeared, letting us work smarter, not harder.  There's more than one way to use your head!

Of course, you still have to march through the jungle to find the house...

When you get there, if there's not enough light, or somebody's butt's too big,
just take off one side of the house.  Problem solved.

Most remaining problems can be solved with the Guatemalan Multi-tool: the machete.
Handy for sizing bricks, stirring mortar, digging dirt, and cutting holes in the tin roof.

First, the cinderblock core is laid and filled with dirt.  Then the bricks are added and topped with a cooking surface.

Hulk skills may be required.

SHE wishes this family health, happiness, and many warm tortillas!