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ROTARY GLOBAL HISTORY FELLOWSHIP HEROES
www.rghfheroes.org |
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NANCY HUGHES |
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Nancy Hughes is the President and founder of "StoveTeam
International", an NGO whose sole objective is to provide
cheap, efficient, safe, environmentally sound and healthy
cooking methods to the less fortunate citizens of the world.
Nancy directs the work of StoveTeam International and is the founder and the face of the
organization.
She represents StoveTeam at ETHOS and the Environmental Protection Agency's Partnership for
clean Indoor Air.
Nancy began StoveTeam after working with a medical team in Guatemala, and observing
the results of burns and upper respiratory diseases caused by cooking over open campfires inside
unventilated homes.
She is an inspiring speaker and raises money for the organization.
Nancy is a graduate of Whitman College, an active member of Rotary and has been a tireless
volunteer with many organizations. She traveled to Central America seven times in 2009 alone.
StoveTeam solves medical and environmental problems by helping start locally owned factories to
promote the use of safe, affordable, fuel-efficient stoves in the developing world.
StoveTeam works to alleviate poverty by supporting social and economic development within each
target country. By giving local entrepreneurs the necessary tools and training, these men and
women are the perfect candidates to become leaders managing the production, marketing and sales
of fuel-efficient stoves.
The “World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than two million premature deaths
annually are caused by exposure to smoke from traditional cook stoves and open fires, with women
and children the most afflicted. That makes it one of the top five overall health risks in poor,
developing countries, and the cause of twice as many deaths as malaria.
The toxic emissions are blamed for low birth weights, pneumonia in young children, and chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, cataracts and
other health problems in adults. Half of all deaths among children under age five from acute
lower respiratory infections are due to indoor air pollution from household solid fuels,
according to WHO.”
The StoveTeam project started with a Major Matching grant and has since been supported by others.
Nancy told us that "we have used the power of Rotary to more than triple the donations we have received from
various members and clubs.
When we initiate a grant, a collaboration of two Rotary clubs places an order with an
entrepreneur in the developing world for around 1,000 Ecocina stoves. The local
entrepreneur then "tools up" his factory to be able to produce Ecocina stoves with
the molds that we provide.
Those factories are privately owned, however the initial order of stoves is placed by
Rotary. The local entrepreneur then sells the stoves at a pre-determined price agreed
upon by the two Rotary clubs. That price is determined by using the "stove cost
calculator" which takes the materials, labor, distribution costs, etc. into account.
The salaries of the factory owner and the workers are included in that calculated price.
We have determined that a factory has to be able to produce between 200-300
stoves per month to have a sustainable operation after the grant is completed.
We have established six factories in five countries in the last three and a half years
and those factories employ an average of 5 people per factory, with a current total in excess of
30 individuals.
To date, those factories have produced and sold more than 14,000 Ecocina stoves, impacting
the lives of more than 80,000 individuals.
As Ecocina stoves reduce the amount of wood used by around 50% and reduce particulate
matter and carbon emissions by over 70%, there is an enormous beneficial impact on the health of
those previously cooking over open fires.
Indoor air pollution is the leading cause of death of children under 5 in the world, and
cooking over open fires is a significant contributor to this problem.
With the reduction of wood usage, forests are also saved, and the population that gathers
and carries heavy loads of wood shows a significant reduction in the number of hernias needing
treatment.
The cost of individual stoves is determined by the factory owner with the use of the stove
cost calculator, taking into account all materials, labor, taxes, health benefits, vacation time,
and distribution costs.
In Mexico and Central America the stoves are sold for between $50 and $55 each.
Rotary Clubs occasionally subsidize a portion of the cost of the stoves, however we
encourage the clubs not to give a substantial subsidy as it then contributes to developing a
"hand out society" ."
Nancy further advised us that she "is a member of Eugene Southtowne Rotary
and originally from Claremont, California. I have lived most of my adult life in Eugene, Oregon.
I also have a home in Ketchum, Idaho where I attend both the Ketchum/Sun Valley Rotary Club and the Hailey Rotary Club.
StoveTeam International became a 501(c)3 in 2008, however the organization began as a project under my direction in 2003 after I saw the devastating burns and upper respiratory infections caused by open fire cooking.
StoveTeam has, in the last three and a half years, established six factories in five countries -
El Salvador,
Honduras,
Guatemala,
Nicaragua and
Mexico.
A partial list of Rotary Clubs who have supported StoveTeam and Rotary projects and grants is as follows:
Anaheim Hills, CA -
Bandon, OR
- Bay Area Sunrise, OR
- Claremont, CA
- Coos Bay-North Bend, OR
- Corvallis, OR
- Cottage Grove, OR
- Delta, OR
- Eugene Mid-Valley, OR
- Eugene Southtowne, OR
- Florence, OR
- Fountain Valley, CA
- Greater Bend, OR
- Greater Corvallis, OR -
Hailey, ID
- Irvine Rotary, CA
- Laguna Beach, CA
- Laguna Niguel, CA
- Leon Rotary, Nicaragua -
Lincoln City, OR
- Mercer Island, WA
- Myrtle Point, OR
- Newport Beach Sunrise, CA
- Newport-Balboa, CA
- Norwalk, CA
- Philomath, OR
- Port Orford, OR
- Rouge Gateway, OR
- San Juan Capistrano, CA
- San Salvador, El Salvador
- Santa Ana Ciudad Heroica, El Salvador
- Santa Barbara North, CA
- Santa Rosa Sunrise, CA
- Sonoma Valley, CA
- Springfield, OR - Sunriver Rotary, OR
- Surf City Huntington Beach, CA
- Tustin, CA
- Villa Park, CA
- Westerville Sunrise, OH
- Yorba Linda Sunrise, CA."
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acknowledgements to StoveTeam
International and Nancy Hughes for permission to publish
researched and posted by RGHF webmaster
Greg Barlow, Malaysia.
August 2011. |
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