by XIMENA LOZA
Cooks at Bolivian schools, who are the mothers of the students, take turns in preparing the food. They now cook more comfortably, because fuel efficient stoves use less wood and do not emit smoke. PHOTO / WFP / Ximena Loza
Cooking on stove tops with heavy exposure to smoke has always made preparing school meals uncomfortable and unhealthy for mothers in Chuquisaca schools. The smoke irritated their eyes and throats, and not only consumed a lot of firewood but also time. With the financial support of TRUVIA, the Association of Municipalities Supporting School Feeding in Chuquisaca (MAECH) and WFP, schools built ecological stoves nicknamed LOLA. “We are free of the smoke”, said one mother.
LA PAZ. –According to the School Principal of Pisili, located in Tarabuco in the southern Department of Chuquisaca, the environmentally friendly stoves have radically changed the way that food is prepared for some 180 students.
“We cooked outdoors with a fire surrounded by rocks. It was difficult, and did not only consume a lot of firewood but also time. Many of the cooks, who are mothers of the schoolchildren, would finish cooking with red eyes and irritated throats from smoke inhalation. With the new more ecological stoves we are able to eliminate the smoke,” said the School Principal.
Less Wood, Less Smoke
World Food Programme for more