Indoor solid-burning fires that fill homes with smoke kill nearly one million children a year. Living in a home with an open solid-fuel burning stove is comparable to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. It is the fourth greatest risk factor for death and disease in the Third World.

In the countries we serve, a vast majority of the population use these stoves, because they lack electricity or alternative means of cooking. Typically, women spend most of the day cooking indoor over these open fires, while simultaneously tending small children. This exposure is extremely dangerous for both mother and child.

HELP International trains communities to build adobe stoves. These stoves replace indoor fires, reduce adverse health affects, and decrease fuel consumption  and cook time by one-third. Stoves are made from local materials. In Latin America we use mud, clay, straw, sand and tin cans while in Africa we use anthill dirt, clay, sand, banana fiber and banana stocks.

In 2008, HELP International participants worked with more than 20 communities to build 420 adobe stoves. The magic of this project is that we teach the method to large groups of community members and then mentor individuals, who become local experts to train others. With hundreds of locals trained in stove construction, this project will continue to flourish and bless lives.