Smoke Free Homes
Project Team
Engineers Without Borders – UBC Student Club, Faculty of Applied Science
Funding
Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm; Engineers Without Borders Canada; UBC Faculty of Land and Food Systems; UBC Professional Activities Club;
About the Project
This project, in collaboration with Rotary East Guatemala, focuses on tackling the health, economic, and environmental challenges posed by open-fire stoves in rural Guatemala. Open-fire stoves cause various respiratory diseases via harmful emissions and contribute to the alarming deforestation rates in Guatemala due to the use of firewood. Therefore, reducing firewood consumption contributes to forest conservation efforts, and provides a healthier household environment and financial flexibility to families living in poverty.
One possible engineered solution to inefficient cooking practices is the “eco-stove”. It’s a rustic-engineered stove model fueled by firewood that removes the smoke from inside the household. Its efficient combustion process also reduces the amount of firewood required for cooking. It is made up of cinder blocks and bricks for the base, galvanized steel tubes that constitute the chimney, and an iron plate for the cooking surface. Our goal is to improve the current model based on stakeholder recommendations and the community’s needs. These include increasing combustion efficiency, reducing gas emissions, and adding functional features based on community needs. The design team will be able to apply the engineering design process to find solutions to the pressing socio-economic, health and environmental issues. The team will also have the opportunity to expand their skill sets used in community partner engagement.
The design and experimental procedures will be conducted at the UBC campus and the real-life application of the finished product will be implemented in villages in San Agustin Acasaguastlan, El Progreso, Guatemala. Our goal this year is to conduct lab testing on our current eco-stove model at the UBC farm see the effects of our recent design improvements. We also aim to present the positive effect of eco-stoves in contrast to open fire cooking to the Guatemalan government through a research paper supported by our lab results.