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Eco-stoves that improve living conditions for community families and contribute to the preservation of water sources in eastern Guatemala

A local solution for cleaner air, healthier families, and stronger water security in the Trifinio region

By IW:LEARN

June 20^th, 2025

When Sara del Rosario Pérez Ramos opens the door to her kitchen, the air no longer burns her eyes.

The smoke that once filled every corner of her home is now just a memory. She lives in El Limón, a small community in eastern Guatemala surrounded by mountains, coffee farms, and water sources flowing down from the forests.

For years, she cooked over open fires, using firewood that she had to gather or purchase herself. The constant smoke caused respiratory discomfort.

All of that began to change when her community became part of a project that, at first, seemed small but ultimately transformed many lives.

Sara del Rosario Pérez Ramos, beneficiary from the community of El Limón. Photo Emmanuel Fontalvo

Wood-saving eco-stoves that improve the living conditions of community families and contribute to the preservation of water sources in eastern Guatemala.

In Guatemala’s Trifinio region, within the Trifinio Fraternidad Montecristo Transboundary Biosphere Reserve, 120 families are now using fuel-saving eco-stoves, representing 20.4% of the population in the Atulapa River micro-basin, a tributary of the Lempa River. This has led to significant benefits—reducing deforestation, preventing respiratory illnesses, and strengthening water security.

The community of El Limón, in Esquipulas, Chiquimula, is one of seven communities that have begun to breathe different air. Thanks to the delivery and installation of 120 wood-saving eco-stoves in the Atulapa River micro-basin—an action promoted by the project “Fostering Water Security in the Trifinio Region”—rural families are experiencing concrete improvements in their health, economy, and environment.

Sara is one of those voices that can now clearly speak to this change:

“With this eco-stove, the house doesn’t fill with smoke anymore. I feel more at ease while cooking, and we use less firewood. That also helps reduce tree cutting near the water sources,” she says, with a mix of relief and pride.

"Fostering Water Security in the Trifinio Region" is a project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and executed by the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (GS/OAS), in coordination with Plan Trifinio. Its objective is to strengthen sustainable water management in the upper Lempa River basin through practical, community-based, and conservation-focused solutions.

Wood-saving eco-stoves help reduce the use of firewood as an energy source for cooking, lower smoke emissions inside homes, and contribute to the conservation of forests, which are vital to the water cycle.

The daily impact has also been felt by Consuelo Aldana Cortéz de Gutiérrez, Sara’s neighbor:

“They taught us how to assemble and maintain it. We used to spend more on firewood and get sick from the smoke. Now we cook faster and more safely.”

Eco-stoves that improve living conditions for community families and contribute to the preservation of water sources in eastern Guatemala

Forests play a key role in water security: they capture moisture, promote retention and infiltration of water, and protect soil from erosion. Their deforestation—often driven by excessive firewood extraction—has direct consequences on water availability and quality. By reducing firewood consumption, eco-stoves not only ease pressure on ecosystems but also strengthen water security, one of the core objectives of the trinational project in the Trifinio region.

In addition to the eco-stoves, beneficiary families received training on their use, maintenance, and the connection between energy, food, forests, and water. This training reinforces community commitment to sustainability and promotes environmentally conscious practices within households.

In rural areas, traditional open-fire cooking is associated with respiratory diseases, especially among women and children. With the new eco-stoves, there has been an immediate improvement in family health and well-being, along with savings on firewood expenses.

Sara sums it up simply but powerfully: now cooking is not only faster and safer, but also fairer—for the forest, for the water, and future generations.

These 120 wood-saving eco-stoves are more than just a technology; they are a tangible step toward sustainable development, where the use of natural resources is balanced with the protection of ecosystems. Through small-scale local actions, the project shows that it’s possible to generate regional impacts—connecting health, environment, and equity.

🌿💧 Because caring for the forest also means caring for the water—and for the lives of those who depend on it.

Instruction Manual for the Use and Assembly of Wood-Saving Stoves.

About the project

The project “Fostering Water Security in the Trifinio Region: Formulating a TDA/SAP for the Transboundary Lempa River Basin” is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It is executed by the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (GS/OAS) in coordination with the Trinational Commission of the Trifinio Plan (CTPT) across El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.

The project spans 48 months and aims to foster water security in the upper Lempa River basin while increasing the resilience of its ecosystems to climate variability and change.

Key Project Objectives

The project ‘Strengthening Water Security in the Trifinio Region’ (GEF-Trifinio), executed by the GS/OAS, has the following key objectives:

1. Strengthen environmental governance frameworks and transboundary cooperation for the shared natural resources of the Lempa River Basin.

2. Identify sustainable financing mechanisms to address priority environmental problems in the basin.

3. Engage communities and the private sector through demonstration projects that enhance their capacity to apply ecosystem-based management approaches, supporting human health and livelihoods.

4. Raise awareness of the benefits of integrated water resources management approaches for human communities and the environment.

Together, these activities aim to initiate transformative changes that will guide the Lempa River basin toward greater water security and the development of climate-resilient ecosystems.

For more information on the project ‘Fostering Water Security in the Trifinio Region,’ please contact: Andrés Sánchez (asanchez@oas.org), Manager Americas Water Program of the General Secretariat of the Organisation of American States; Misael León (maleon@oas.org), Regional Coordinator of the GEF-Trifinio Project; Emmanuel Fontalvo Patiño (efontalvo@oas.org), Knowledge Management and Communications Specialist, GEF-Trifinio Project.