Woman inspired to action by the impact of solar cooking

Cedesol would like to pay tribute in our first newsletter to the work of Suzette Phillips from Indiana, U.S.A who has been moved to action by the positive impact she has seen first-hand of our ecological stoves on the lives of many Bolivians.

Suzette came in May 2007 after her son Chris had come to Bolivia with ETHOS (Engineers in Technical and Humanitarian Opportunities of Service) as part of the University of Dayton Ohio to work on solar cookers for six months and told her of the significance of this work.

Spending ten days in Bolivia, Suzette immersed herself in the work of Cedesol and its sister organization Sobre la Roca, participating in several demonstrations and was even interviewed on Bolivian television!

After seeing the difference it could make to the lives of many thousands of Bolivians Suzette went back home with enthusiasm and energy, intent on making this difference possible for Bolivians who may not be able to do so on their own, given their little resources.

She took a solar cooker kit back to Indiana and set it up there in her garden. Despite Indiana not having the best climate for solar cooking Suzette gets the most out it-- using it for cookies, brownies, potatoes, vegetables, eggs and to make green tea. She spoke at her church and its associated school about her experience in Bolivia and what she had learned. Enough donations were collected to subsidize over one hundred solar cookers. Suzette has just started a project she calls “Aprons of Thanks”. When someone makes a donation they are given an apron, made by the Bolivian women, as a thank you. She is now considering setting up a non-profit organization in the US to benefit the work of incorporating solar cookers into Bolivian culture.

We are very grateful to Suzette for what she has done and all she and her family continue to do. It is our desire that others may be inspired by Suzette’s story and likewise may be moved to action, by spreading the word or by raising money so that we can change the lives of many more Bolivians.

You can see Suzette’s story featured on MSNBC’s web page 'People show their Green lifestyles'. You can also find out about the work of the Bolivia Project.
If you would like to contact Suzette, please write to us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will be sure to pass your message on to her.

Partnership for Clean Indoor Air with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

This is an exciting time for Cedesol as we are looking to build on the progress we made in 2007 preparing to make a much greater impact in 2008. One way in which we will be able to achieve our goals for this year is through a Partnership for Clean Indoor Air with the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) of the U.S.A.

Cedesol is one of five organizations around the world selected by the EPA in this partnership and will be using the grant to up-scale the industrialization process for an uniquely designed wood-burning device called a rocket stove. Major improvements will be made in the production process so that 2,000 of these stoves will be produced every month, compared to 300 or 400 being made before the up-scale.

Consultants are working to improve the design of the stove which has already proven to be at least 42% efficient does not pollute the environment and gets about 95% of harmful gas particles out of the living space. Our goal is deliver 20,000 stoves by mid-2009 and will by then be impacting cultural change and improving the lives of a significant sector of the population.

Opportunity to invest in impacting change

As Cedesol is growing and it is becoming possible to produce many hundreds more ecological stoves every month, We are looking for support so that we can make these vitally important stoves obtainable for many more families who do not have the financial resources to be able to change their lives in this way. We believe that you desire to affect social change and that you have a vital role in our shared endeavour to restore dignity to the people of Bolivia.

Therefore Cedesol would like to bring your attention to a project that we are currently running in partnership with GiveMeaning, An organization with a website that allows anybody to invest in projects that have achievable goals to accomplish measurable life-change. For just $12 invested you can enable a poor Bolivian to acquire an ecological stove that can improve their life in so many ways and also reduce damage to the environment.

For more information and the opportunity to invest in this project please visit our Give Meaning project page.

The initial deadline to achieve our stated fundraising goal for this project is 22nd March; now would be a great time to give!