Dear Friends,
Last week we were able to go with Roy Durgin (our volunteer who lives with us from the Bruderhof Community) to the overcrowded town of Limbe about 4 miles from here, and help with a Rocket Stove demonstration.  We brought one already made, for use to demonstrate how to cook with them. There were around 30 adults and children all keenly interested in the process of making a stove right in front of their homes.  It was a community affair!  After the stove was made by Roy and two other Haitian volunteers. I lit the stove we had brought and got a pot of water to a roaring boil in just a few minutes. I explained how easy it is to have a good hot fire to cook your food.  With a rocket stove you don’t need expensive charcoal that deforests the land. The women especially were so excited to see the stoves in action.  I asked if anyone had anything to cook and someone came forward with two plantains. We popped them into the pot with some salt and within 10-15 minutes they were soft and ready to eat.  The woman who donated them cut them into small pieces and passed them around for all of us to taste.  It was a successful workshop!  But the best was when two little girls, who had been watching Roy mix the clay and shape the stove, came forward to show that they had been hard at work making a small doll-size clay Rocket Stove. They had used the leftover clay mix and formed a perfect replica only smaller.  We showed everyone in the circle there that afternoon and it brought roars of laughter and rounds of applause.  There is hope yet for the youth catching the spirit of the Rocket Stove!

Blessings,

Nancy James

To give to the James' support go to their web page

If you give to the James' support before December 31, 2009 your gift will be doubled.