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.
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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)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/ccb649e1-8e98-45c9-8914-f6e4751fef47/134bfd0f-b7af-418f-9cac-96abf2e5ddff_rw_1920.jpg?h=bb901af5b7e189c6da554ec87dbe6cb1)
In 2016, we traveled to villages surrounding Lambaréné, Gabon.
Below, shows the concrete stove-top created for Iguendja's cookstove.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/ccb649e1-8e98-45c9-8914-f6e4751fef47/fd9a91ee-7acf-4951-9369-5cc4a186c43c_rw_3840.jpg?h=8981d8f303e354b37890d148a71a9a18)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/ccb649e1-8e98-45c9-8914-f6e4751fef47/a1062ae6-bf2e-486b-86f9-7a1e9c2e1e29_rw_1920.jpg?h=8b08046e4181f0a231f4cfd6c5545a4b)
Our 2nd stove of 2016 is shown below. This stove was constructed for the 2016 workshop at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Lambaréné, Gabon.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/ccb649e1-8e98-45c9-8914-f6e4751fef47/9018951d-6ce8-4d1a-883c-8aae04648c86_rw_1920.jpg?h=c6b190b52feaae9b598feea36c3ecf68)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/ccb649e1-8e98-45c9-8914-f6e4751fef47/8cf5360d-6d78-44a5-9dbd-59751ebaea2f_rw_3840.jpg?h=0724cdc05249370579042cab51f52488)
The third, and final, stove of 2016 is shown below.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/ccb649e1-8e98-45c9-8914-f6e4751fef47/184d07d2-6175-4646-b7f7-9351ac48c0ac_rw_1920.jpg?h=269f7989dcf75c83bb9e22e8f7896516)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/ccb649e1-8e98-45c9-8914-f6e4751fef47/676337d8-cbd7-4c29-b3c6-e4e9b8482264_rw_1920.jpg?h=72ce280ed641fd77e958a12728e21307)
Villagers watch as our team supports and sets the chimney in concrete.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/ccb649e1-8e98-45c9-8914-f6e4751fef47/9fce0dfe-f04e-4e84-b631-095df41eab08_rw_3840.jpg?h=a09c36d86f06d59c3e18a0a2c2abdfeb)