In Jatanca, Peru, 56-year-old Juana Mayanga Poenque lives. Once or twice a week, she and her husband go to the Cañoncillo forest to fetch firewood. They then take machetes and use them to cut off branches that they use to boil water. This is how many people in the area do it. Organisation A Rocha is committed to protecting the rainforest and therefore installed a new cooker for Ms Poenque. Why exactly a cooker?
Back pain and lots of smoke
Mrs Poenque: “The new cooker has changed my daily life a lot.” Before she had this cooker, she cooked on a simple, low cooker. She had to bend over a lot, which gave her back pain. In addition, smoke got stuck in the stove. “That was very annoying. The smoke stung our eyes and nose and the whole room became covered in soot. It was uncomfortable and tiring.”
Fewer branches
Now, with the new cooker, the situation has improved considerably. Firstly, because the food cooks much faster. “Before, I needed about twenty to twenty-five branches of firewood to prepare lunch. Now I only need ten - which is enough because the stove heats up faster and retains heat, almost like a small oven.”
Safe and comfortable
In addition, smoke pollution is greatly reduced because the stove has a chimney that drains smoke to the outside. Moreover, cooking is now more comfortable and safer. “Because this cooker is higher, I no longer have to bend over so deeply. Before this, I could even burn my hands while cooking, but now it is much safer.”
Thus, something that seems small, like a better cooker, actually makes a big difference in daily life as well as for the forest. Mrs Poenque: “I hope more such projects can be done in the community in the future. I thank God for this and also for the help of the churches in the Netherlands.”
Diaconate CGK supports A Rocha's work.
