Help build a smokeless oven for Earth Day 2014

Tuesday 22nd April is Earth Day 2014. Earth Day was conceived back in 1970 as an annual reminder of the need to take care of our natural environment. Today, 44 years on, that need is even more pressing, which is why we'd like to remind you of our smokeless ovens programme.

A smokeless oven in action

These ovens, built of mud and straw, replace the traditional cooking method using firewood and three stones. This form of cooking causes indoor pollution which can lead to pneumonia, chronic bronchitis and lung cancer. But a smokeless oven makes the cooking process inside the home safe and smoke free.

Another enormous benefit of the smokeless oven is that it uses 60 percent less firewood than the open fire method. Over a three-week period, a family with a smokeless oven will use the same amount of burning materials that previously lasted them only one week. And two pots can be cooked at once on our smokeless oven, making further savings in both fuel and labour.

Mixing the raw ingredients to build an oven

The material to make the ovens is found naturally, and is cost-free. It costs us only £30 to train someone to build an oven.  We've built several hundred of these ovens so far. That's several hundred families living and cooking in a safer, cleaner environment.

 Please  help us train more people and build more ovens.

Text SMOU13 £5 or more to 70070 to make a donation to this appeal.  Alternatively you can click here to donate online.

Go here to read more about our smokeless ovens programme.