Cooking in rural Gabon often involves the three-stone method (shown below) inside small corrugated metal structures. The smoke from three-stone stoves is not contained and, therefore, inhaled by those who cook.
To create an alternative stove, we pressed the bricks below (composed of local sand, dirt, and minimal concrete).
The bricks are then stacked and covered in mixed adobe.
Above, I am seen covering our 1st stove in adobe. (2015)
Our cookstoves require less manual labor than three-stone stoves as they utilize less wood to produce a hotter, more concentrated flame. Additionally, the added chimney enables users to direct smoke away from the lungs rather than trapping it indoors.
Below, a villager of Massenguelani squats beside the 2nd stove constructed in the Lopé region of Gabon. (2015)
In 2016, we traveled to villages surrounding Lambaréné, Gabon.
Below, shows the concrete stove-top created for Iguendja's cookstove.
Our 2nd stove of 2016 is shown below. This stove was constructed for the 2016 workshop at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Lambaréné, Gabon.
The third, and final, stove of 2016 is shown below.
Villagers watch as our team supports and sets the chimney in concrete.
