Generational Impact
Cleaner kitchens. Less time gathering fuel. A stove families choose to use for more than a decade.
PATENT PENDINGper person, per year · direct-program Generational Cost
Before
Traditional three-stone fires can create extreme fine-particle pollution. Laboratory simulations cited in a World Bank/NCBI review found about 6 grams of PM2.5 emissions per hour from a wood-fired three-stone stove — roughly the particulate emissions of 400 cigarettes per hour. This compares emissions, not the amount inhaled by a person.
Source: World Bank / NCBI household-air-pollution review. Studies of rural Mexican women also associate biomass cooking smoke with increased respiratory symptoms and reduced lung function.
Before & After
A visual contrast between a traditional smoky cooking area and a newer cooking space built around a chimney-vented La Mazateca stove. Based on field observation, many installations involve a new or upgraded cooking space — roughly 40% new buildings, 40% major renovations, and 20% minor renovations.
Drag the handle, click anywhere on the image, or use the left/right arrow keys.
Household Investment
Families often do more than replace a stove in the same room. Based on field observation, many installations involve either a newly built cooking space or a meaningful upgrade to the old one — roughly 40% new buildings, 40% major renovations, and 20% minor renovations.
The household contributes labor, materials, and space to make the stove part of the home. That changes the meaning of the installation: families are not passively receiving equipment; they are investing in a cleaner, more functional cooking environment.
PATENT PENDINGAfter
La Mazateca vents combustion gases outside through a chimney.
With smoke vented outside, the cooking area can begin to serve new purposes. This was not the original goal; it is a positive unintended consequence.
Plate and cup storage beside a La Mazateca stove. With smoke and soot removed from the room, families can begin using the cooking space in new ways.
Gathering fuel can involve women and children walking significant distances and carrying heavy loads.
estimated hours of fuel-gathering time saved per household each year (field estimate, not a formal time-use study)
A typical 9–12 month firewood supply for a small family. Every piece must be gathered, carried, purchased, transported, or stored.
Task-level results: ≈50% less wood for tortilla cooking; ≈64% less for a 5-liter water boil (0.9 kg vs. 2.5 kg).
adoption across more than 200 stoves.
PATENT PENDING
